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LONGFEILOKS 

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^ MIAWATHft 

By ELLfl BOOHEI^ 



EDUCATIONAL PUBUSHING CO. 

~ ml III II I iiirniil 



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THE LIBRARY OF 
CONQRESS. 


Two Copie» 


Received 


APR 7 


1903 


\ Copyright 


Entry 


CLA88 ^ XXa No 


COPY 








Copyrighted 

By EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY 

1903 



PREFACE. 



In preparing this little book I have aimed at two things : 
First, to present some of the beauties of this writer to the 
millions of school children who are gradually acquiring a 
love for good literature, and, second, to furnish a supple- 
mentary reader both instructive and entertaining ; a book 
that can be used by those teachers who realize that in order 
to get the best results in reading, the child must be furnished 
not simply with words to pronounce but thoughts to occupy 
his mind. E. B. 



THE STORY OF HIAWATHA. 



pRKlAcr. ..... 

LE.SS(»N T. Ijvk of J.o.NGFF.I.I.oW 

" II. Hiawatha. Imrudiciiox 

" III. WiiKRK TiiF Story was Fofni) 

" IV. The Peack-Pipk .... 

" V. Ml'DJEKEFWlS; KlNd oF THE WlNDS 

" \'I. IHaWATHA AM) XoKoMlS 

" \U. IHaWAIIEV's VEMiEANCE 

VIII. The Ght of Corn 

" IX. (Hiinviios Axn Kwase\i> 

" X. Hiawatha Hiilds a Boat 

" XI. Hiawatha Kites the Kim; of Flshes 

«' Xn, Hiawatha Kii.i.s Pearl-Ffiahiek 

" XIII. Hiawatha and Minnehaha 

«' XIV. The Wedding Ff:ast 

" XV. The Story of Ossf.o 

" XVI. Minnehaha Pi, esses the Coknfieeds 

XVII. HiAVYATHA's PirTrKE-\VRITIN(. 

XVIII. Death of (hihiaiios 

" XIX. Pau-Pfk-Keewis; Fht; Storm Fool 

" XX. Hiawatha Hunts Paf-Plic-Keewis 

" XXI. The Pygmies Kile Kwasinj) 

" XXII. -Hiawatha's VisrroKs 

■' XXIII. The Famine and ihe Fexilk 

XXIV. FiiK CoMiNt; OF THE White Man 

" XX\'. Hiawatha Claims His Kingdom 



3 

7 

12 
15 

i8 
26 

34 
46 

57 

69 

77 

«5 

95 

107 

119 

127 

141 

i5« 

157 

167 

178 

191 

196 

206 

217 

22^ 




HENRY W. LONGFELLOW 



LIFE OF LONGFELLOW. 

*' Come to me, O ye children ! 
For I hear you at your play, 
And the questions that perplexed me 
Have vanished quite away." 

— jfroin " Children y 

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born in Portland, 
Maine, Feb. 27, 1807. The house in which he was born 
was situated so that he could see the sea, and as he grew 
older he learned to love its restless motion and its waves 
whispered many strange stories of far distant countries and 
people. 

He was very fond of his childhood home and in his poem, 
*' My Lost Youth," he tells us that he often thought of the 
dear old town and the beautiful sea. 

Longfellow's father was a lawyer and he was a descendant 
of John Alden and Priscilla, of whom he tells us in "The 
Courtship of Miles Standish." 

When he was three years old he began to go to school and 
at the age of six he was a good Latin and Greek scholar. He 
entered Bowdoin College in 1821 and graduated from there in 
1825, at the age of eighteen. He was one of the best scholars 
in the class. While at college he wrote some of his best 
known poems. After he graduated he was offered a position 
in the college as teacher of foreign languages and literature. 



8 LIFE OF LONGFELLOW. 

He went to Europe to prepare himself for this work and 
spent nearly two years in the different countries of the Old 
World studying their languai^e and literature. Returning, 
he taught for five years at Bowdoin. While there, in 1831, 
he married Mary Potter, a young lady of Portland. He was 
offered the professorship of modern literature and languages 
in Harvard University and he resigned his position at 
Bowdoin college to accept the one at Harvard. 

Again he went to Europe to study and gather rich gems 
from the best masters of the world. This time he was 
accompanied by his wnfc. While they were at Rotterdam 
she was taken suddenly ill and died. Mr. and Mrs. Bryant 
were at that time staying in Rotterdam and it was with them 
that the Eongfellows made their home. We can readily 
understand how the poet's heart was saddened by the death 
of his loved wife and best friend, but by that strength of will 
which is apparent in all his undertakings, he applied himself 
to his work and not only prepared himself for his responsible 
position at Harvard, but also wrote the '* Hyperion," which 
has been the delight of all nations. 

Returning to the United States in 1836, he begun his work 
in the University and made his home in rooms of the old 
Craigie House, which had become historical during the Rev- 
olutionary War. This house was afterward purchased and 
became Longfellow's own propert)'. Every nook and corner 
of this old house was filled with ghosts of the past which 
told of the da\'s long ago, when George W^ashington lived 
there and was surrounded by the brightest people of that 
time. Prom the windows, the River Charles could be seen 



LIFE OF LONGFELLOW. 9 

winding its way through the green fields and meadows. 
The beautiful thoughts brought to Longfellow by this river 
have been given to us in his poem " The River Charles." 

People were beginning to think and talk about slavery and, 
in 1842, Longfellow wrote his poems on slavery, which at 
once became famous. Of course many people did not agree 
with what the poet said but nevertheless they thought and 
talked about them. 

He was married to Frances Appelton in 1843 ^'"'d during 
their wedding journey they visited the Catskill Mountains. 
These mountains are full of wild, strange legends and 
stories handed down from the Indians and also from the 
early Dutch settlers, and it is very likely that some of these 
have been woven into his poems and sketches. 

The Longfellow home at Craigie House was an ideal one. 
It was here that most of his best writing was done and he 
gives glimpses of the beautiful home life in "The Children's 
Hour." 

Six children played in the large rooms and on the broad 
lawns and in the evening twilight crept to their father's study 
for a talk with their best friend. And since children in all 
ages are much alike, it is safe to say that they searched the 
garret for revolutionary relics. 

His first great poem was "Evangeline," which was published 
in 1847. This is a historical poem as well as a romance. 
It pictures strikingly the sufferings and hardships of the 
Acadian people after they were taken from their homes and 
scattered over the different states. 

Next came "Hiawatha," in 1855, which is the most 



lO LIFE OF LONGFELLOW. 

thoroughly American of all his great poems. "Evangeline" 
deals with the French exiles of Acadia. " The Courtship of 
Miles Standish " tells us of the people who came from Eng- 
land in the Mayflower, but *' Hiawatha" speaks to us in the 
voice of our own dearly loved mountains, valleys, plains and 
lakes. It tells us of the growth and history of a race found 
only in our own country. 

'* Ye whose hearts are fresh and simple; 
Who have faith in God and Nature, 
Who believe, that in all ages 
Every human heart is human. 
That in even savage bosoms 
There are longings, yearnings, strivings 
For the good they comprehend not. 
That the feeble hands and helpless, 
Groping blindly in the darkness. 
Touch God's right hand in that darkness, 
And are lifted up and strengthened ; — 
Listen to this simple story, 
To this song of Hiawatha." 

These lines embrace the creed of every Christian religion. 
They are filled and breathing with the Christ-love for all 
mankind. Although men may not always know Vv^hat thing 
they long and strife for, yet the simple trying makes them 
better and brings them nearer to God. 

After teaching eighteen years at Harvard, Longfellow 
resigned in order to give more time to literature. 

In July, 1 86 1, while giving an entertainment to her children. 



LIFE OF LONGFELLOW. I I 

Mrs. Longfellow's thin dress caught fire and she was burned 
to death. In trying to extinguish the flames, our gentle 
poet was so badly burned that for some time he was con- 
fined to his room and was unable to attend the funeral of 
his wife. 

Thus the golden home life was broken and his heart 
strings were torn and bruised, but through it all he kept his 
wonderful sweetness of character and his love for nature and 
especially for the children. 

He again went to Europe in 1868, this time wfth a family 
party, but he was not satisfied and returned to Cambridge, 
where he lived until March 24, 1882. Then the angel of 
death came and beckoned to him and he went forth into the 
great beyond with the calm faith of a little child. 

Although the poet is dead his work lives after him and the 
influence of his life is felt even beyond the seas. 

His last resting place is in Mount Auburn cemetery, near 
Cambridge, Mass. 

Longfellow was not only a poet but he was a pure, noble 
man who made the world much better for his having lived 
and worked in it. The whole history of his life is told in 
these two lines, — 

" Do thy duty ; that is best. 
Leave unto thy Lord the rest." 



fwmmnn. 




Should you ask me whence these stories? 

Whence these legends and traditions, 

With the odors of the forest, 

With the dew and damp of meadows. 

With the curling smoke of wigwams, 

With the rushing of great rivers, 

With their frequent repetitions, 

y\nd their wild re\'crberations. 

As of thunder in the mountains? 



INTRODUCTION, 



*' I repeat them as I heard them 
From the Hps of Nawadaha, 
The musician, the sweet singer." 

" In the Vale of Tawasentha, 
In the green and silent valley, 
By the pleasant water-courses, 
Dwelt the singer Nawadaha." 

'^ There he sang of Hiawatha, 
Sang the song of Hiawatha, 
Sang his wondrous birth and being, 
How he prayed and how he fasted, 
How he lived and toiled and suffered, 
That the tribes of men might prosper, 
That he might advance his people ! 

Ye who love a nation's legends, 
Lov^e the ballads of a people, 
That like voices from afar off 
Call to us to pause and listen, 
Speak in tones so plain and childlike, 
Scarcely can the ear distinguish 
Whether they are sung or spoken ; — - 
Listen to this Indian legend, 
To this Song of Hiawatha ! 



•^%^^ 



mmm^m 



mmmm 




'*"*"l|iniri' 



The Song of Hiawatha is a collection of the 
legends and traditions of the Indian tribes, 
principally of the Ojibways and Dacotahs. 

These were gathered from the mountains 
and valleys, from the cries and songs of the 
wild animals and birds of the forest. While 
running through them all one can almost hear 
the rush of the rivers as they hurry with whirl 
and roar on their way to the sea, see the 
smoke as it wreathes itself in fantastical 
shapes from the wigwams far up into the blue 
sky, and feel the dew of evening in the 
marshes and meadows. 

It is supposed that these were told by an 

15 



l6 IIIAWA'IHA. 

Indian singer or poet ecilled Nciwadaha, who 
lived in the valley of Tawasentha. They were 
told by the fathers to their sons through many 
generations, because they had no other way 
of keeping the legends. They could not write, 
so had no books. These stories were told in 
a monotone or chant which made them much 
more pleasing to the ear. 

Nawadaha lived in a small village in the 
valley which was surrounded by the meadows 
and the cornfields. Then, farther back from 
the village, was the forest of pine-trees which 
were ever singing to those who could under- 
stand them. 

Several pleasant rivers ran through the 
valley and Nawadaha got many of his stories 
from them and from the wild fowl. In this 
place he was surrounded by many things which 
made him think pure and noble thoughts and 



HIAWATHA. 17 

here he wrote of Hiawatha, of his birth and 
after life, when he prayed and fasted that he 
might find some way to better the condition 
of his people. He was the great prophet or 
teacher who was sent to toil and suffer and at 
last to bring many blessings to his people. 

Those who believe that in every human 
heart there are hopes and longings for some- 
thing nobler and better, and that in the blind 
searching after an ideal, men and women are 
made better, will find much in the Song of 
Hiawatha to make their own lives nobler; 
for it breathes of love and longing, hope and 
sorrow, and through all a boundless trust in 
the Here and the Hereafter. 



tra-di^-tions, stories told not written. 
re-ver-ber-a'-tions, echoes. 
Na-wa-da'-ha, an Indian poet or singer. 
Ta-wa-sen'-tha, a valley. 
Hi-a-wa'-tha, the great teacher, 
fan-tas'-ti-cal, strange or dreamy. 




On the mountains of the Prairie, 
On the great Red Pipe-Stone Quarry, 
Gitche Manito, the mighty, 
He the Master of Life descending. 
On the red crags of the quarry 
Stood erect, and called the nations. 
Called the tribes of men together. 



As the master of Life came over the prairies 
a river flowed from his footsteps through the 
meadows, and when it came to the steep rocks 
of the mountains it plunged down, gleaming 
like Ishkoodah, the comet. 



18 




STOOD EKELT, AND CALLED THE NATION'S 



HIAWATHA. 19 

When he came to the Red Pipe-Stone 
Quarry, he stopped and broke off a piece of the 
stone and made it into a pipe-head with his 
fingers. He covered it with figures of birds 
and animals, and then took a reed from the 
river bank and made a stem for it. It was a 
very beautiful pipe with the dark green leaves 
on the stem. 

Then he filled the pipe bowl with red willow 
bark, and made the branches in the forest bend 
and sway with the wind until they rubbed 
together and made fire. With this fire he 
lighted his peace-pipe. 

Then he stood erect upon the mountain and 
smoked the Peace-Pipe as a signal for all 
nations to come together at that place. And 
as the smoke rose above the tree-tops, even to 
the heavens, all the tribes saw it and started 
for the quarry. 



2o HIAWATHA. 



And the prophets of the nations 
Said ; '* Behold it, the Paukwana ! 
By this signal from afar off, 
Bending like a wand of willow, 
Waving like a hand that beckons, 
Gitche Manito, the mighty, 
Calls the tribes of men together. 
Calls the warriors to his council ! " 



For days and days all the people were 
traveling rapidly in one direction, till they 
reached the red stone quarry. 



And they stood there on the meadow, 
With their weapons and their war-gear. 
Painted like the leaves of Autumn, 
Painted like the sky of morning. 
Wildly glaring at each other ; 
In their faces stern defiance, 



HIAWATHA. 2 1 

In their hearts the feuds of ages, 

The hereditary hatred, 

The ancestral thirst of vengeance. 



For many years these people had been fight- 
ing among themselves, tribe against tribe, and 
when they found themselves all together they 
were anxious to begin fighting again. 

Gitche Manito saw how they felt and he 
was sorry for them. He stretched his right 
hand over them and w^hen its shadow fell 
upon them their anger was soothed and their 
desire for revenge was gone. 

Then he told them that he was sorry for 
them, and asked them to listen to the words of 
knowledge and wisdom he was going to speak 
to them; 

** I have given you lands to hunt in, 
I have given you streams to fish in, 



HIAWATHA. 

I have given you bear and bison, 
I have given you roe and reindeer, 
I have given you brant and beaver, 
Filled the marshes full of wild fowl, 
Filled the rivers full of fishes ; 
Why then are you not contented ? 
Why then will you hunt each other? 



He told them he w^as weary of seeing them 
always fighting and quarreling with each other. 
That if they lived in peace they would be the 
strongest of nations, but if they kept on fighting 
they were in danger of being destroyed. 

" I will send a prophet to you, 
A Deliverer of the nations. 
Who shall guide and who shall teach you. 
Who shall toil and suffer with you. 
If you listen to his councils. 



HIAWATHA. 23 

You will multiply and prosper; 
If his warnings pass unheeded, 
You w^ill fade away and perish ! 
Bathe now in the stream before you, 
Wash the war-paint from your faces. 
Wash the blood-stains from your fingers, 
Bury your war-clubs and your weapons, 
Break the red stone from this quarry, 
Mould and make it into Peace-Pipes, 
Take the reeds that grow beside you, 
Deck them with your brightest feathers. 
Smoke the calumet together. 
And as brothers live henceforward ! " 



In this way the Master of Life promised 
to send Hiawatha to the people, and also 
promised that if they obeyed him and followed 
his teachings and stopped their warfare, they 
would be blessed and made to prosper. 



24 HIAWATHA. 

When he ceased speaking all the warriors 
threw their clothes and weapons in a heap on 
the river bank, and leaped into the water and 
washed the w^ar-paint from their faces and 
bodies. Then when they came out of the 
water they made a deep hole and buried all 
their war-clubs and every warlike weapon. 
When they had done this the Great Spirit was 
pleased and smiled upon them in kindness. 



And in silence all the warriors 
Broke the red stone of the quarry, 
Smoothed and formed it into Peace-Pipes, 
Broke the long reeds by the river. 
Decked them with their brightest feathers. 
And departed each one homeward. 
While the Master of Life ascending. 
Through the opening of cloud-curtains, 
Through the doorways of the heaven, 



HIAWATHA. 25 

Vanished from before their faces, 
In the smoke that rolled around him. 
The Pukwana of the Peace-Pipe. 



This was the first Indian council, and the 
first time the Peace-Pipe was used. Both of 
these customs were taught them by Gitche 
Manito and ever since they have held councils 
and smoked the pipe of peace. 



quar-ry, place wliere stones are dug from the earth. 

Git-che Man'-i-to, the Master of Life. 

Ish-koo-dah', a comet. 

Puk-wa'-na, the smoke of the Peace-Pipe. 

cal'-u-met, the Peace-pipe. 

pro-phet, a teacher. 

coun'-cil, a gathering of people to form plans. 




Far to the north in the mountains lived 
the Great Bear, Mishe-Mokwa. He was very 
wicked and fierce and all the people were afraid 
of him. He had the sacred belt of Wampum. 

Mudjekeevvis was very brave and he said he 
would go into- the north and kill Mishe- 
Mokwa and bring home the belt of wampum. 

Silently he went along until he found the 

26 




THE DEATH OF MISHE-MOKWA. 



HIAWATHA. 27 

Great Bear asleep and he stole upon him and 
took the sacred belt. Then he shouted his 
war-cry and struck Mishe-Mokwa in the 
middle of his forehead. The Bear was dazed, 
and reeled and staggered and sat upon his 
haunches whimpering. 

Mudjekeewis was not afraid but taunted 
him and laughed at him. Then he struck 
him again and killed him. 

When Mudjdkeewis came home all the 
people were glad and were very proud of him. 



*' Honor be to Mudjekeewis ! " 
With a shout exclaimed the people. 

''Honor be to Mudjekeewis! 
Henceforth he shall be the West Wind, 
And hereafter and forever 
Shall he hold supreme dominion 
Over all the winds of heaven." 



28 III.WVA'I'IIA. 

So, as an honor, Aludjekccwis was made 
king of all the winds of heaven. He kept the 
West Wind and gave the others to his chil- 
dren. He gave the East Wind to Wabun. 
The East Wind was very beautiful ; he 
brought the morning light and painted the 
sky in all the rosy colors of the sunrise. He 
it w^as who called everything and awoke the 
birds and flowers in the morning. 

But Wabun was lonely because he had no one 
to love. One morning he looked down upon the 
earth and saw a beautiful maiden walking bv 
the river, and he wooed her with his singing 
and whispering among the branches. He 
brought her the sweetest music and the 
sw^eetest odors and at last she learned to love 
him. Then he drew her up into the sky to 
himself and changed her into a star. 

And in the heavens they are forever seen 



HTAWAlllA. 29 

walking" together, the Hast \\'ind and the 
beautiful Morning Star. 

Mudjekeewis gave the North Wind to Kabi- 
bonokka who was so cruel and fierce and who 
had his home among the snow and icebergs of 
the far north. 



He it was whose hand in Autumn 
Painted all the trees with scarlet, 
Stained the leaves with red and yellow; 
He it was who sent the snow-flakes, 
Sifting, hissing through the forest. 
Froze the ponds, the lakes, the rivers. 
Drove the loon and sea-gull southward, 
Drove the cormorant and heron 
To their nests of sedge and sea-tang 
In the realms of Shawondasee. 



Shingeris was a diver and once when the 



30 HIAWATHA. 

cold weather came on he did not go to the 
south with his people, but built a lodge and 
gathered enough wood to last all winter and 
stayed to hunt and fish. 

This made Kabibonokka very angry and he 
determined to punish the diver. 



Who is this that dares to brave me ? 

Dares to stay in my dominions, 

When the Wawa has departed, 

When the wild goose has gone southward, 

And the Heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, 

Long ago departed southward ? 

I will go into his wigwam ; 

I will put his smouldering fire out ! " 



So at night he came and shook the poles of 
the wigwam and flapped the skin at the door- 
way, but Shingebis was not afraid because he 
had plenty of firewood. Then the angry North 



HIAWATHA. 3 1 

Wind came into the lodge, but Shingebis only 
made the fire bigger and he had to leave. 

Now he was more angry than ever and made 
the ice thicker and the snow deeper. Then 
challenged Shingebis to come out into the 
frozen meadows and wrestle, naked, with him. 

All night they wrestled on the moor, till at 
last the North Wind gave up the contest and 
went back to the far Northland. 

Shawondasee, the South Wind, had his 
dwellings far to Southward. He was very 
listless and lazy, but he drove the North Wind 
away in the spring and sent the birds and 
flowers. He caused the melons and tobacco 
to grow and ripen and the grapes to hang in 
purple bunches in the summer. 



From his pipe the smoke ascending, 
Filled the sky with haze and vapor, 



32 HIAWATHA. 

Filled the air with dreamy softness, 

Gave a twinkle to the w^ater, 

Touched the rugged hills with smoothness, 

Brought the tender Indian summer 

In the Moon wiien nights are brightest. 

In the dreary Moon of Snow-shoes. 



Shaw^ondasee had one great sorrow in his 
life. One morning he looked over the 
meadow and saw a dandelion ; he thought 
it was a maiden with a green dress and 
golden hair. 

He was too lazy to go and win her but 
every day he loved her more and more. At 
last, one morning, w^hen he arose, and looked 
for his love, he found that her green dress was 
gone and that her hair was white. He 
thought the North Wind had wooed the 
maiden and won her and he was very sad. 



HIAWATHA. 33 

So the South Wind wandered over the 
meadow, always sighing for the lost maiden. 



Thus the Four Winds were di\aded; 
Thus the sons of Mudjekeewis 
Had their stations in the heavens, 
At the corners of the heavens ; 
F^or himself the West Wind only 
Kept the mighty Mudjekeewis. 



Mishe -Mok-wa, the Great Bear. 

Mud-je-kee'-wis, the West Wind, king of the winds, 

Hiawatha's father. 
do-min*-ion, rule or authority. 
Wa -bun, the East Wind. 
Kab-i-bo-nok -ka, the North Wind. 
Shin-ge-bis, the diver. 
Sha\v-on-da'-see, the South Wind, 
sea-tang, seaweed. 



MIAWATM/^ 
«"° NOKOMIS 




Long, long ago, so long that no one knows 
exactly when it was, Nokomis fell from the 
moon. She was very, very beautiful, one of 
the most beautiful women ever seen. This is 
how she happened to fall from the moon to the 
earth. . 



She was sporting with her women, 
Swinging in a swing of grapevines, 

34 



HIAWATHA. 35 

When her rival, the rejected, 
Full of jealousy and hatred, 
Cut the leafy swing asunder. 
Cut in twain the twisted grape-vines, 
And Nokomis fell affrighted 
Downward through the evening twilight, 
On the Muskoday, the meadow, 
On the prairie full of blossoms. 
'' See ! a star falls ! " said the people: 
From the sky a star is falling ! " 



Nokomis had a daughter who was almost 
as beautiful as she was herself when she was 
young. This girl's name was Wenonah and 
she was tall and slender like the lilies of the 
meadow. 

And Nokomis warned her often. 
Saying oft, and oft repeating, 
" O, beware of Mudjekeewis ; 




NOKOMIS \-K\.\. I'KO.M THK MODN. 



HIAWATHA. I'J 

Of the West-wind, Mudjekeewis." 

But she heeded not the warning, 
Heeded not these w^ords of wisdom. 



Wcnonah would not listen to Nokomis, but 
when Mudjekeewis came dancing over the 
meadows and wooed her, she was pleased and 
went away with him. 

The West Wind was heartless and fickle 
and when he grew tired of Wenonah he left 
her and Hiaw^atha, and went laughing away. 

Then Wenonah took Hiawatha and went 
home to the wigwam of her mother, Nokomis. 



But the daughter of Nokomis, 
Hiawatha's gentle mother, 
In her anguish died deserted 



38 HIAWATHA. 

By the West Wind, false and faithless, 
By the heartless Mudjekeewis. 



Nokomis wept for her daughter for a long 
time and was very sad. She was old now and 
not so beautiful as when she was young. 



By the shores of Gitche Gumee, 
By the shining Big-Sea-Water, 
Stood the Wigwam of Nokomis. 



Gitche Gumee is the Indian name for Lake 
Superior and they also called it the Big-Sea- 
Water. On the shores of this lake stood the 
wigwam of Nokomis, and it was there that 
Hiawatha grew from a baby to a man. It was 
a very pretty place. 

Nokomis rocked him to sleep in his linden 
cradle at night and sung queer songs to him. 



HIAWATHA. 39 

She taught him about the stars in heaven, the 
comets, and showed him the path in the sky 
where the dead warriors pass from earth to 
heaven. 



At the door on summer evenings 
Sat the little Hiawatha; 
Heard the whispering of the pine-trees, 
Heard the lapping of the water. 
Sounds of music, words of wonder : 
" Minne-wawa ! " said the pine-trees, 
'* Mudway-aushka ! " said the water. 



While he was sitting at the doorway he saw 
the firefly flitting back and forth among the 
trees and over the water, and he sang : 



'' Wah-wah-taysee, little firefly, 
Little, flitting, white-fire insect, 




WHAT IS THAT, NOKOMIS"; 



HIAWATHA. 41 

Little dancing, white-fire creature, 
Light me with your little candle, 
Ere upon my bed I lay me, 
Ere in sleep I close my eyelids ! " 



When he saw the moon rise out of the lake, 
he whispered, '' What is that, Nokomis ? " 
Nokomis told him that once, a lon^r time a<sro, 
when a warrior was \'ery angry, he took his 
grandmother and threw her up to the moon 
and that it was her face he saw there. 

Nokomis taught him many strange things. 
She told him that when the flowers died in 
the forest and on the meadow, they bloom 
again in heaven and make the rainbow. 

Hiawatha was in the forest so much he 
learned all about the birds and animals. He 
called the birds, '' Hiawatha's chickens," and 
the animals, " Hiawatha's brothers." 



42 HIAWATHA. 

He was so kind that they were not afraid of 
him and he learned their language and talked 
with them whenever he met them in the forest. 

lagoo, a friend of Nokomis, often told 
Hiawatha wonderful stories of his hunting and 
travels. One day he made a bow and some 
arrows for Hiawatha. The bow was made 
of ash, and the string of deer-skin and the 
arrows were made of oak with points of flint, 
and winged with feathers. 



Then he said to Hiawatha; 
"Go, my son, into the forest, 
Where the red deer herd together, 
Kill for us a famous roe-buck. 
Kill for us a deer with antlers ! " 



Hiawatha took the bow and arrows and 
went out into the forest by himself to do as 
lagoo had told him. 



HIAWATHA. 43 

The birds sang around him and said, '* Do 
not shoot us, Hiawatha ! " The squirrel leaped 
among the branches and laughed, and the 
rabbit sat at one side of the path ; and they all 
called to him, ''Do not shoot us, Hiawatha!" 



But he heeded not, nor heard them. 
For his thoughts were with the red deer; 
On their tracks his eyes were fastened, 
Leading downward to the river. 
To the ford across the river. 
And as one in slumber walked he. 



When he reached the ford Hiawatha hid 
among the bushes and waited for the deer to 
come down to drink. After awhile he saw 
a large roe-buck come to the edge of the 
stream and pause to listen. His head was 
lifted and he was sniffing the air. Then Hia- 



44 IIIAWAIIIA. 

w;itha shot an arrow and tlic deer fell dead 
on the river bank. 



Dead he lay there in the forest, 
By the ford across the river ; 
Beat his timid heart no longer, 
But the heart of Hiawatha 
Throbbed and shouted and exulted, 
As he bore the red deer homeward. 
And lagoo and Nokomis 
Hailed his coming with applauses. 



lagoo was very proud of Hiawatha. He 
had taught him to shoot with the bow and 
arrows and now little Hiawatha had killed the 
larofest deer in the forest. 

Nokomis was also proud of Hiawatha; she 
made a great dinner of the deer's flesh and 
invited all the village. Every one praised 



lllAW A'lllA. 45 

Hiawatha and called him Strong-Heart. No- 
komis made him a shirt out of the skin of the 
deer and trimmed it with fringe. 

It is not strange that Hiawatha was such a 
Avonderful child, for his mother was a descend- 
ant from the people of the moon and his 
father was the West Wind. 



No-ko'-mis, Hiawatha's grandmother. 

Mus-ko-day', the meadow. 

Wen-o -nah, Hiawatha's mother. 

Git'-che Gu'-mee, the Big-Sea-Water, Lake Superior. 

Minni-wa'-wa, sound of the wind in the pine trees. 

W'ah-wah-tay'-see, the firefly. 

I-a-goo (E-a'-goo), the great boaster and stor\' teller. 



AIAWATHAS 




When Hiawatha grew to manhood he was 
very wise. He knew all the games the young 
men played, all the manly arts and labors, and 
he had listened to the stories of the old men 
and warriors until he knew the history of 
many ages. 



Swift of foot was Hiawatha ; 
He could shoot an arrow from him, 



46 



HIAWATHA. 47 

And run forward with such fleetness, 

That the arrow^ fell behind him ! 

Strong of arm was Hiawatha: 

He could shoot ten arrows upward, 

Shoot them with such strength and swiftness, 

That the tenth had left the bow-string 

Ere the first to earth had fallen ! 



He had magic mittens of deer-skin that 
made him so strong he could break great 
rocks, and grind them into powder. He wore 
magic moccasins which enabled him to take 
steps a mile long. 



Much he questioned old Nokomis, 
Of his father, Mudjekeewis; 
Learned from her the fatal secret 
Of the beauty of his mother. 
Of the falsehood of his father ; 



48 HIAWATHA. 

And his heart was hot within him, 
Like a living coal his heart was. 
Then he said to old Nokomis, 
'' I will go to Mudjekeewis, 
See how fares it with my father; 
At the door-ways of the West-wind, 
At the portals of the Sunset ! " 



Hiawatha dressed himself for a long jour- 
ney. He put on his magic mittens which 
gave him strength, and his moccasins which 
gave him speed. He put on his deer-skin 
shirt and leggings which were decorated with 
quills and wampum, and in his hair he put a 
bunch of eagle feathers. He put his belt of 
wampum about his waist, and took his bow 
and quiver of arrows. Then he was prepared 
for his journey to the gates of the Sunset. 

Nokomis was afraid that some harm would 



HIAWArHA. 49 

happen to him and tried to persuade him to 
stay at home. 



"(k) not forth, O Hiawatha! 
To the kingdom of the West-Wind, 
To the realms of Mudjekeewis, 
Lest he harm you with his magic, 
Lest he kill you with his cunning! " 

But Hiawatha was determined to go and 
punish Mudjekeewis for the way he had 
treated his mother. He passed out of the 
lodge and into the forest, taking a mile at each 
step. He saw none of the beauties of the 
forest, or the meadow, for his heart \\'as full 
of anger. So he journeyed ever westward 
tow^ard the home of the West-Wind. 

Swiftly he crossed the valley and the Mis- 
sissippi River, onward across the western 
prairies, till he came to the Rocky Mountains 



so HIAWATHA. 

on the top of which was the throne of 
Mudjekeewis. 

Hiawatha was filled with awe and wonder 
when he first saw his father. His long, white 
hair was blown about and filled the air like 
foamy clouds. 

Mudjekeewis was very glad to see Hiawa- 
tha for he seemed to see his youth rise before 
him in Hiawatha's face. 

''Welcome! " said he, " Hiawatha, 

To the kingdom of the West-Wind ! 

Long have I been waiting for you ! " 

Hiawatha stayed and for many days he and 
Mudjekeewis talked together Mudjekeewis 
boasted of the great deeds he had done in his 
youth, and proudly told how he had killed 
Mishe-Mokwa in the mountains of the north. 
He told how very brave he was and that 
nothing could hurt him. 



HIAWATHA. 5 1 

Hiawatha sat and listened to his boasting 
and never let him know by word or look that 
he had come to take vengeance for the treat- 
ment of his mother. But his heart was hot 
and his mind was full of hatred. 

Then they talked of other things, of Hiawa- 
tha's brothers, the East-Wind, the South-Wind 
and the North-Wind, and at last of Wenonah. 
When Mudjekeewis told the same story that 
Nokomis had told him long ago, Hiawatha 
could stand it no longer. 



And he cried, " O Mudjekeewis 
It was you who killed Wenonah, 
Took her young life and her beauty, 
Broke the Lily of the Prairie, 
Trampled it beneath your foot-steps ; 
You confess it ! you confess it ! " 




mold!" at I.KNliTII t KIEI) M 11) | KK K IlW IS 



HIAWATHA. 53 

Then Hiawatha sprang at Aludjekeewis and 
the great battle begun. The trees and bushes 
were torn up all around and the great rocks 
were broken and trampled in the mountains. 

Even yet there are traces of the dreadful 
conflict; you can see the great rocks broken 
and scattered in the valleys. 

For three days the battle lasted and Mudje- 
keewis retreated w^estward, followed by Hiawa- 
tha. They retreated until they came to the 
farthest border of the earth, where the great 
sun sank out of sight in the evening. 



'' Hold ! " at length cried Mudjekeewis, 
Hold, my son, my Hiawatha ! 
'Tis impossible to kill me, 
For you cannot kill the immortal, 
I have put you to this trial 
But to know and prove your courage; 



54 HIAWATHA. 

Now receive the prize of valor ! 

'' Go back to your home and people, 
Live among them, toil among them, 
Cleanse the earth from all that harms it, 
Clear the fishing grounds and rivers, 
Slay all monsters and magicians. 
All the giants, the Wendigoes, 
All the serpents, the Kenabeeks, 
As I slew the Mishe-Mokwa, 
Slew the Great Bear of the mountains. 

''And at last when Death draws near you, 
When the awful eyes of Pauguk 
Glare upon you in the darkness, 
I will share my kingdom with you. 
Ruler shall you be thenceforward 
Of the Northwest-Wind, Keewaydin, 
Of the home-wind, the Keewaydin." 



Thus was Hiawatha promised a reward for 



HIAWATHA. 5 5 

working and toiling among his people. As he 
went on his way homeward everything seemed 
beautiful for all the anger was gone from his 
heart. 

He paused only once on his way home, and 
then in the land of the Dacotahs, where an old 
man lived who was famous as an arrow-maker. 
No other arrows were so good and true as his, 
none so sharp and strong. 

This old man had a daughter whose name 
was Minnehaha. She was very beautiful, and 
the old man named her after the falls which 
were near their wigwam, Minnehaha, Laugh- 
ing Water. The name suited her well for her 
voice was soft and musical as the water where 
it fell gleaming over the falls. 

Hiawatha bought his arrows, but he also 
looked at Minnehaha, and carried the memory 
of her with him on his journey. 



56 HIAWATHA. 

v\ll he told to old Nokoinis, 

When he reached the lodj^'-e at sunset, 

Was the meeting" with his father, 

Was his fi^ht with Mudjekeewis; 

Not a A\ord he said of arrows, 

Not a word of Laughing" Water. 



Since he had seen his father and satisfied 
his thirst for vengeance Hiawatha gave his 
attention to the work he had to do. He tried 
to find some way to make the life of his 
people better. 



Ken-a'-beeks, serpents. 

Pau'-guk, death. 

Kee-way'-din, the Northwest-Wind. 

Da-co'-tahs, a tribe of Indians. 

Min-ne-ha'-ha, Laughing Water, the wife of Hiawatha. 



THt GIPT OP 



k 



CORN 




^W-^^-.; 



You shall hear how Hiawatha, 
Prayed and fasted in the forest, 
Not for greater skill in hunting. 
Not for greater craft in fishing, 
Not for triumphs in the battle, 
And renown among the warriors, 
But for profit of the people, 
For advantage of the nations. 



He went into the forest and built a lodge 
in which to fast, close beside the shining water 
of the lake. This was in the springtime when 
the forest was full of birds and animals, but 



58 HIAWATHA. 

for seven days and nights he ate no food of 
any kind. 

He wandered through the woods and saw 
the birds flying in the sky, the deer and other 
animals in the thicket, the fishes leaping and 
playing in the water, and the berries ripening 
on the vine. 

As he looked at these things he was very 
sorrowful, for he realized that, although there 
was plenty of food in the spring and summer, 
there was no way of keeping a supply for the 
cold days of winter. The berries were good 
while they lasted but they would not last, 
and in the fall most of the birds flew away 
to the south, so the Indians must depend on 
the fishes and animals. Sometimes the river 
froze so hard that they could not fish, and the 
snow was so deep that they could scarcely 
hunt. 



HIAWATHA. 59 

Master of Life ! " he cried desponding, 
Must our lives depend on these things ? " 



The Great Spirit heard his cry and was 
sorry for him and pitied him. 

When Hiawatha had fasted for four days 
he was very weak. He could hardly stand 
and he lay in his wigwam on a bed of leaves. 
He looked out at the door and the trees 
seemed to reel and move, while the water 
gleamed and glistened in the light of the 
sunset. 



And he saw a youth approaching, 
Dressed in garments green and yellow, 
Coming through the purple twilight. 
Through the splendor of the sunset ; 
Plumes of green bent o'er his forehead, 
And his hair was soft and golden. 



60 111. WVA I'll. \. 

When this young man came to the doorway 
he paused and looked at Hiawatha and smiled. 
He saw that he was worn and wasted, and 
knew that he was fasting and praying for the 
good of his people and not for himself. 

He spoke kindly to Hiawatha, and his voice 
was soft and low like the whispering of the 
South-Wind among the pine-trees. 



Said he, " O, my Hiawatha! " 

All your prayers are heard in heaven, 

F^or you pray not like the others." 

From the Master of Life descending, 
I, the friend of man, Mondamin, 
Come to warn you and instruct you. 
How by struggle and by labor 
You shall gain what you have prayed for. 



HIAWATHA. 6 1 

Rise up from your bed of branches, 
Rise, O youth, and wrestle with me ! " 



Hiawatha was very weak and faint but he 
went out in the evening twilight and wrestled 
with Mondamin. When Mondamin touched 
him he felt stronger, and so they wrestled 
until the darkness fell around them and they 
could hear the screams of the wild fowl as they 
went hurrying to their nests in the marshes. 

*' Tis enough ! " then said Mondamin, 
Smiling upon Hiawatha, 
'' But tomorrow when the sun sets, 
I will come again to try you." 



As he finished speaking he went into the 
forest and Hiawatha was left alone, wondering 
what it all meant. 

He grew weaker than ever, but on the next 



62 . HTAWATIIA. 

two days when Mondamin came in the even- 
ing he arose and wrestled with him. When 
they were through Hiawatha would fall half- 
dead upon his bed of leaves and lie there 
till Mondamin came again. 

Three times Mondamin came in his beauti- 
ful green garments, with his golden hair, and 
wrestled with Hiawatha till the darkness came. 
On the third evening Mondamin was tired 
and warm, and stood wiping the sweat from 
his forehead. 



And he cried, '' O Hiawatha ! 
Bravely have you wrestled with me, 
Thrice have stoutly wrestled with me, 
And the Master of Life, who sees us. 
He will give to you the triumph ! " 

Then he smiled, and said, '' To-morrow, 
Is the last day of your conflict, 



Hiawatha. 63 

Is the last day of your fasting. 
You will conquer and o'ercome me ; 
Make a bed for me to lie in, 
Where the rain may fall upon me, 
Where the sun may come and warm me ; 
Strip these garments green and yellow, 
Strip this nodding plumage from me. 
Lay me in the earth, and make it 
Soft and loose and light above me. 
Let no hand disturb my slumber, 
Let no weed or worm molest me. 
Let not Kahgahgee, the raven, 
Come to haunt me and molest me. 
Only come yourself to watch me, 
Till I wake, and start, and quicken. 
Till I leap into the sunshine." 



When he was gone Hiawatha lay down 
and slept peacefully. In his dreams he heard 




64 



HIAWATHA WRESTLES WITH MONDAMIN, 



HIAWATHA. 65 

the song of the night-birds, the murmur of the 
river, and the sighing of the tree-tops. 

In the morning Nokomis came with food 
and begged him to eat. She was afraid he 
would fast too long and die, but he would not 
eat. 



Only said to her, '' Nokomis, 
Wait until the sun is setting, 
Till the darkness falls around us, 
Till the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, 
Crying from the desolate marshes. 
Tells us that the day is ended." 



Nokomis took the food and went home, 
weeping bitterly. 

All day Hiawatha sat in his wigwam waiting 
for Mondamin. He was very weak and w^eary. 
At last Mondamin came to the door and 



66 HIAWATHA. 

beckoned. Hiawatha went and the strength 
came back to his weak hands and weary body. 
Again he wrestled as he had never wrestled 
before. 



Suddenly upon the greensward 
All alone stood Hiawatha, 
Panting with his wild exertion, 
Palpitating with the struggle ; 
And before him, breathless, lifeless. 
Lay the youth, with hair dishevelled. 
Plumage torn, and garments tattered, 
Dead he lay there in the sunset. 



Hiawatha made Mondamin's grave, as he 
had wished, where the rain and sunshine fell 
upon it, and then went home. But he did 
not forget or neglect the grave. He kept the 
earth loose and soft, pulled up all the weeds, 



HIAWATHA. 6"] 

killed all the harmful insects and did not let 
the crows or ravens disturb it. 



Till at length a small green feather, 
From the earth shot slowly upward, 
Then another and another, 
And before the summer ended 
Stood the maize in all its beauty. 
With its shining robes about it, 
And its long, soft, yellow tresses ; 
And in rapture Hiawatha 
Cried aloud, '' It is Mondamin ! 
Yes, the friend of man, Mondamin ! " 



Then he ran and called Nokomis and lagoo, 
and told them of all the strange things he had 
heard and seen while fasting in the forest. 
He told them how he had wrestled in the 
evenings with Mondamin and in proof of what 



68 HIAWATHA. 

he said he showed them the maize growing 
above his grave. 

In the autumn when the corn was ripe all 
the people had a feast and they husked the 
corn and stored it away for winter. 

In this way the Great Spirit answered Hia- 
watha's prayers and gave this gift to the 
nations, which should be their food forever. 

Long ago in those old days the Indian corn 
was called the '' friend of man," and so it is 
yet one of the best friends man has. 

The Master of Life sent this gift from 
heaven as a blessing to the people of 
Hiawatha. 



re-a-lized, understood. 
Mon-da'-min, the Indian corn, 
plumage, plumes or feathers. 
Kah-gah-gee', the raven, 
des-o-late, lonely, 
dis-hev-elled, disordered, 
maize, the Indian corn. 



HliMffiS'^^KWiMl 




Two good friends had Hiawatha, 

Singled out from all the others, 

Bound to him in closest union, 

And to whom he gave the right hand 

Of his heart, in joy and sorrow ; 

Chibiabos, the musician. 

And the very strong man, Kwasind. 



These three were such good friends that no 
one could make trouble between them, no 
matter how much they tried. 



JO HIAWATHA. 

For they kept each other's counsel, 
Spake with naked hearts together, 
Pondering much and much contriving, 
How the tribes of men might prosper. 



Hiawatha loved Chibiabos best, he was so 
gentle, and kind and beautiful. He was as 
brave as a man and gentle as a woman. He 
was a very good and noble man. 

He made flutes from the reeds, which grew 
by the river side, and his music was so 
sweet and grand that the women stopped 
their work to listen to him and the warriors 
gathered round him, begging him to play 
again. 

His music was so soft and low that the 
brook stopped its murmuring to listen to it 
and the birds and the wild animals were silent 
in wonder. 



HIAWATHA. 71 

Yes, the brook, the Sebowisha, 
Pausing, said, '' O Chibiabos, 
Teach my waves to flow in music, 
Softly as your words in singing ! " 

All the many sounds of nature 
Borrowed sweetness from his singing ; 
All the hearts of men were softened 
By the pathos of his music; 
For he sang of peace and freedom, 
Sang of beauty, love and longing, 
Sang of death and life undying 
In the Islands of the Blessed, 
In the kingdom of Ponemah, 
In the land of the Hereafter. 



Although Hiawatha loved Chibiabos best 
he was very fond of Kwasind, who was the 



72 HIAWATHA. 

strongest of all the men on earth. Hiawatha 
loved him because he was so good. 

When Kwasind was little he was not like 
other children. He never hunted or fished or 
played with the other boys of the village. 
But he fasted and prayed to the Great Spirit. 



'' Lazy Kwasind ! " said his mother, 
" In my work you never help me ! " 



She told him to go and wring her fish nets 
which hung outside of the wigwam, but when 
he tried to wring them he tore them and broke 
the cords, he was so strong. Because he did 
no work the people laughed at him and called 
him Yenadizze, the dandy. 



'* Lazy Kwasind ! " said his father, 
'' In the hunt you never help me." 



HIAWATHA. 73 

One day Kwasind's father took him with 
him when he went hunting. He said that if 
the boy could not hunt, he could at least carry 
the game for him. They went for a long dis- 
tance till they came to a place where the great 
trees had fallen across the path in such a way 
that they could not pass. 



'*We must go back," said the old man, 
"O'er these logs we cannot clamber; 
Not a woodchuck could get through them, 
Not a squirrel clamber o'er them ! " 



So he sat down on a log to smoke and rest 
awhile, but before he had smoked one pipe the 
path was cleared. Kwasind had piled the 
great trees upon each side of the path and left 
it free. They went on their way and spent the 
day in hunting. 



HIAWATHA. 75 

*' Lazy Kwasind ! " said the young men, 
As they sported in the meadow: 
''Why stand idly looking at us, 
Leaning on the rocks behind you? 
Come and wrestle with the others, 
Let us pitch the quoit together ! " 



Kwasind made no answer, only turned 
around, lifted the great rock from the 
ground and hurled it into the river. In the 
summer time when the river is low you can 
still see the rock where he threw it. 

One day, while he and some of his friends 
were in a canoe, he saw a beaver in the water. 
He jumped out of the canoe and chased the 
beaver to his home beneath the water. 



Stayed so long beneath the water. 
That his terrified companions 



76 HIAWATHA. 

Cried, " Alas ! good-bye to Kwasind ! 
We shall never more see Kwasind ! " 



After a long time he rose to the surface of 
the river and brought with him the dead 
beaver. 

And these two, as I have told you. 
Were the friends of Hiawatha, 
Chibiabos, the musician. 
And the very strong man, Kwasind. 
Long they lived in peace together. 
Spake with naked hearts together. 
Pondering much and much contriving 
How the tribes of men might prosper. 



Chib-i-a'-bos, the musician, Hiawatha's friend. 
Kwa'-sind, the very strong man. 
pa-thos, sadness or tenderness. 
Pone'-mah, the hereafter. 
Yen-a-diz'-ze, a lazy gambler or dandy. 
Se-bo-wish'-a, the brook. 



MIAWATMH BUILDS R BOOT. 




Hiawatha went into the forest and stripped 
the bark from the birch tree to make a boat. 
It was in the summer time and all the birds 
were singing gaily. The sun shone brightly 
on the water of the river and everything in 
nature was glad and beautiful. 



" Give me of your bark, O Birch-Tree ! 
Of your yellow bark, O Birch-Tree ! 
Growing by the rushing river, 



77 



78 HIAWATHA. 

Tall and stately in the valley! 
I a light canoe will build me, 
Build a swift Cheemaun for sailing, 
That shall float upon the river, 
Like a yellow leaf in Autumn, 
Like a yellow water-lily ! 
'• Lay aside your cloak, O Birch-Tree! 
Lay aside your white-skin wrapper, 
For the summer-time is coming, 
And the sun is warm in heaven. 
And you need no white-skin wrapper ! " 



When the birch tree heard him calling for 
its white wrapper to make a canoe, it was sad 
and all its branches gave a great sigh. 



And the tree with all its branches 
Rustled in the breeze of morning. 
Saying, with a sigh of patience, 
Take my cloak, O Hiawatha!" 



HIAWATHA. 79 

He took his knife and cut through the bark, 
all around the tree just above the ground, and 
then made another deep ring around the tree 
just below the branches, and still another cut 
straight from the top to the bottom of the tree. 
Then he took a wedge and raised one edge of the 
bark and thus peeled off the bark in one sheet. 

When he had finished he called to the cedar 
tree to give him some branches to make his 
canoe stronger. 



Through the summit of the Cedar 
Went a sound, a cry of horror, 
Went a murmur of resistance; 
But it whispered, bending downward, 
** Take my boughs, O Hiawatha! " 



He took the boughs of the cedar tree and 
made the frame-work of the boat and then put 



8o HIAWATHA. 

the bark of the birch tree around it, but he 
saw that the water would come in at the cracks. 
So he took the tough, slender roots of the 
larch tree and sewed the strips of bark to- 
gether; but still the water came in. Then he 
decided to take the sap of the fir tree and coat 
the seams with it to keep out the water. He 
asked the fir tree for some of its sap. 



And the Fir-Tree, tall and sombre. 
Sobbed through all its robes of darkness, 
Rattled like a shore with pebbles. 
Answered wailing, answered weeping, 
'' Take my balm, O Hiawatha ! " 



With the tears of the fir tree he covered the 
cracks of his boat and made it so tight and 
snug that not a drop of water could get in to 
wet him. 



HIAWATHA. 8 1 

Now the canoe was done but Hiawatha 
thought it was not pretty enough. So he 
took the quills of the hedge hog, colored them 
in many different hues and then, making a 
long necklace, put it around the center of his 
boat. He made two beautiful stars of the 
many colored quills and put one on each side 
of the front. The boat was finished and very 
pretty it looked as it floated on the breast of 
the river. 

Thus the Birch Canoe was builded 
In the valley by the river, 
In the bosom of the forest ; 
And the forest's life was in it. 
All its mystery and its magic. 
All the lightness of the birch-tree, 
All the toughness of the cedar. 
All the larch's supple sinews ; 



HIAWATHA. 83 

And it floated on the river 
Like a yellow leaf in Autumn, 
Like a yellow water-lily. 



All the trees gave of their strength and 
usefulness to help Hiawatha build his boat. 
Some of them were sad and wept because they 
had to give up their branches or roots, but 
they loved him and did all they could to help 
him. 



Then he called aloud to Kwasind, 
To his friend, the strong man Kwasind, 
Saying '' Help me clear this river 
Of its sunken logs and sand-bars." 



When Kwasind heard Hiawatha call him he 
came at once and began to dive and bring out 
all the sunken logs and branches of trees. He 



84 HIAWATHA. 

was so strong he did not get tired easily and 
they worked for a long time, Hiawatha guid- 
ing the canoe, and Kwasind swimming through 
the deep water and wading through the shal- 
lows. They made the river so clean and free 
from all things that a boat could sail from its 
source in the mountains to the bay through 
which it poured its water into the ocean 

Clearing the river was a part of the work 
Mudjekeewis had told Hiawatha he must do in 
order to earn his reward. 



Chee-maun', a birch canoe. 

re-sis-tance, to act against or to be opposed to. 

som-bre, gloomy or grave. 

sup-pie, easily bent. 

sin-ews, muscles. 




Forth upon the Gitche Gumee, 
On the shining Big-Sea-Water, 
With his fishing line of cedar, 
Of the twisted bark of cedar, 
Forth to catch the sturgeon Nahma, 
Mishe-Nahma, King of Fishes, 
In his birch canoe exulting 
All alone went Hiawatha. 



Through the still, clear water Hiawatha 
could see the fishes, the sun-fish, the perch and 



85 



86 HIAWATHA. 

the craw-fish, swimming and playing at the 
bottom of the lake. 

In the stern of the boat Hiawatha sat with 
his fishing-line and in the other end Adji- 
daumo, the squirrel, hopped about. 

Mishe-Nahma, the king of fishes, lay on the 
glistening sand of the lake bottom, breathing 
the water through his great gills and beating 
the water with his tail. 

He was very beautiful as he lay there, and 
very cruel also. He had plates of bone to 
protect his head and sharp spears on his back 
and shoulders. His body was covered with 
bright spots of the colors of the rainbow. He 
was lying there in the water resting when 
Hiawatha came sailing along. 



''Take my bait," cried Hiawatha, 
Down into the dephs beneath him, 



HIAWATHA. 87 

''Take my bait, O Sturgeon, Nahma! 
Come up from below the water, 
Let us see which is the stronger ! " 



Hiawatha dropped his fishing-line over the 
edge of the boat and the bait sank slowly into 
the water. He waited and when he found there 
was no jerk on the line he called again and 
asked Nahma to come and try his strength. 

Nahma lay quietly on the sand and listened 
to Hiawatha as he called and shouted. At last 
he grew tired of the noise and told the pike 
to go and break the line and steal the bait. 

When Hiawatha felt the line straighten and 
tighten he thought it was Nahma and pulled 
so hard that his canoe stood on end in the 
water like a log. But when he saw^ that it was 
only a pike he had caught he threw him back 
into the water in disgust. 



88 HIAWATHA. 

Then he shouted and called again and 
Nahma sent the giant sun-fish to break the 
line. The sun-fish seized the line and swam 
round in circles till the boat whirled round like 
a top. 

When Hiawatha saw it was only a sun-fish 
he mocked at it, and the sun-fish sank back to 
the bottom of the lake. 

A third time he called to the sturgeon. 
Nahma was now angry and this time he de- 
cided to go up himself. 

From the white sand of the bottom 
Up he rose with angry gesture, 
Quivering in each nerve and fibre, 
Clashing all his plates of armor, 
Gleaming bright with all his war-paint; 
In his wrath he darted upward. 
Flashing leaped into the sunshine, 



HIAWATHA. 89 

Opened his great jaws, and swallowed 
Both canoe and Hiawatha. 



In a moment Hiawatha was in the darkness 
of Nahma's stomach. He was dazed at first 
and then he felt the great heart of the stur- 
geon beating and, in his anger, he struck it 
with his fist. He was sick and weary but he 
struggled through the darkness and turned his 
canoe cross-wise so that it would keep him 
from being thrown out into the water of the 
lake, which Nahma was lashing with his tail. 
Adjidaumo stayed close to Hiawatha and 
helped him to turn the boat. 



Then said Hiawatha to him, 
'* O my little friend, the squirrel, 
Bravely have you toiled to help me; 
Take the thanks of Hiawatha, 



HIAWATHA. 91 

And the name which now he gives you ; 
For hereafter and forever, 
Boys shall call you Adjidaumo, 
Tail-in-air the boys shall call vou ! " 



Meanwhile Hiawatha felt the sturgeon shiver 
and struggle and then lie still in the w^ater. 
Slowly the great fish drifted toward the shore 
until his huge body grated on the sand and 
pebbles of the beach. Then Hiawatha knew 
he had killed Nahma, the king of fishes. 

Presently he heard a great screaming and 
flapping of wings, and in a little while he saw 
a gleam of light come through an opening 
between the ribs of the great fish. The sea- 
gulls had torn away the flesh of Nahma and 
had eaten it. They were peering through the 
open place into his body and Hiawatha heard 
them talking. 



92 HIAWATHA. 

Heard them saying to each other, 
'' 'Tis our brother, Hiawatha ! " 



He called to them to make the holes larger 
so that he could get out. The sea-gulls 
worked very hard and Hiawatha at last stepped 
from the body of the sturgeon. 



He was standing near his wigwam, 
On the margin of the water, 
And he called to old Nokomis, 
Called and beckoned to Nokomis, 
Pointed to the sturgeon, Nahma, 
Lying lifeless on the pebbles. 
With the sea-gulls feeding on him. 



He told her he had killed Mishe-Nahma, 
the King of Fishes, and said she must not 
drive the sea-gulls away till they had finished 



HIAWATHA. 93 

their dinner because they had helped him so 
much. He told her to wait till they went to 
their nests in the marshes and then, bringing 
her pots and kettles, to make oil from the 
flesh to use in the winter. Nokomis waited 
till the moon, the Night-Sun, rose above the 
water and then she went to work. 



To his sleep went Hiawatha, 
And Nokomis to her labor, 
Toiling patient in the moonlight, 
Till the sun and moon changed places, 
Till the sky was red with sun-rise, 
And Kayoshk, the hungry sea-gull, 
Came back from the reedy islands. 
Clamorous for their morning banquet. 

Three whole days and nights alternate 
Old Nokomis and the sea-gulls 
Stripped the oily flesh of Nahma, 



^4 HIAWATHA. 

Till the waves washed through the rib^ 

bones, 
Till the sea-gulls came no longer, 
And upon the sand lay nothing 
But the skeleton of Nahma. 



Nah;-ma, the sturgeon ; the King of Fishes. 
Ad-jid-au'-mo, the squirrel. 
Kay-oshk', the sea-gull. 
Night-Sun, the moon. 




/!I/\W?\TM/\ 






In the evening, when the sun was setting 
and all the sky burned and glowed like fire, 
old Nokomis stood on the shore of the lake 
and called Hiawatha to her. 



And Nokomis, the old woman, 
Pointing with her finger westward, 
Spake these words to Hiawatha: 
'* Yonder dwells the great Pearl-Feather, 

He it was who slew my father, 
By his wicked wiles and cunning, 
When he from the moon descended, 

95 



g6 HIAWATHA. 

When he came on earth to seek me. 
He the mightiest of Magicians. 
Sends the fever from the marshes, 
Sends the pestilential vapors, 
Sends the poisonous exhalations, 
Sends the white fog from the fenlands, 
Sends disease and death among us ! " 



She told Hiawatha to take his bow and 
arrows, his war-club, his mittens and his canoe 
and go far to the westward and destroy this 
magician, who was so harmful to the people. 

Hiawatha took some of the oil of Nahma and 
greased the sides of his canoe so that it would 
slip easily and quickly through the water and 
started to avenge the murder of his grandfather. 



Straightway then my Hiawatha, 
Armed himself with all his war-gear, 



HIAWATHA. 97 

Launched his birch-canoe for sailing; 
With his palms its sides he patted, 
Said with glee, '' Cheemaun, my darling, 
O my Birch-Canoe ! leap forward, 
Where you see the fiery serpents, 
Where you see the black pitch-water ! " 



The canoe leaped forward almost as if it 
were alive and Hiawatha sang his war songs 
as the boat sped onward to the home of the 
great magician. 

Soon he came to the place in the river where 
the great serpents lay coiled in the water. 
Fire seemed to flash from their eyes and their 
breath was like fiery fogs from the marshes. 
No one had ever been able to pass this place 
in the river, but Hiawatha was not afraid. 

He called to the monsters to let him pass 
but they taunted him, called him Faint-Heart 



98 HIAWATHA. 

and told him to go back to Nokomis or they 
would kill him. 

Then Hiawatha took his bow and shot his 
arrows rapidly among them. Every time an 
arrow left the bow-string a serpent was killed. 



Weltering in the bloody water, 
Dead lay all the fiery serpents, 
And among them Hiawatha 
Harmless sailed, and cried exulting: 
'* Onward, O Cheemaun, my darling ! 
Onward to the black pitch-water!" 



Again he oiled the sides of his boat so 
that it would pass more swiftly, and went on 
his journey. 



All night long he sailed upon it, 
Sailed upon that sluggish water, 



HIAWATHA. 99 

Covered with the mould of ages, 
Black with rotting water-rushes. 
Rank with flags and leaves of lilies, 
Stagnant, lifeless, dreary, dismal, 
Lighted by the shimmering moonlight, 
And by will-o'-the-wisps illumined, 
Fires by ghosts of dead men kindled, 
In their weary night-encampments. 



The darkness of night had come on and 
Hiawatha was all alone upon the river, with 
the mosquitoes singing around him and the 
fire-flies waving their torches and trying to 
make him lose his way. The Shuh-shuh-gah 
called aloud from her nest in the marshes that 
Hiawatha was coming. He did not notice the 
cries of the wild fowl nor follow the fire-flies, 
but went straight toward the west, where the 
great Pearl-Feather lived. 



lOO HIAWATHA. 



At last, when the sun fell hot and burning 
upon the water, Hiawatha saw the lodge of 
Pearl-Feather on the shore before him. 



Then once more Cheemaun he patted, 
To his birch-canoe said " Onward ! " 
And it stirred in all its fibres. 
And with one great bound of triumph 
Leaped across the water-lilies. 
Leaped through tangled flags and rushes, 
And upon the beach beyond them 
Dry-shod, landed Hiawatha. 

As soon as he landed he took an arrow and 
shot it at Pearl-Feather's wigwam, and called 
to him. 



''Come forth from your lodge, Pearl-Feather! 
Hiawatha waits your coming!" 



HIAWATHA. lOi 



Pearl-Feather came from his wigwam, 
dressed from head to foot in weapons of war. 
His war paint shone in the sun, and the eagle 
feathers in his hair streamed in the air. He 
was very proud and he scoffed at Hiawatha 
and told him to go back before he killed him 
as he had killed his grandfather. 



But my Hiawatha answered, 
Nothing daunted, fearing nothing: 
" Big w^ords do not smite like war-clubs. 
Boastful breath is not a bow-string. 
Taunts are not so sharp as arrows, 
Deeds are better things than words are, 
Actions mightier than boastings ! " 

Then began the greatest battle the sun had 
ever looked upon. Pearl-Feather and Hiawatha 
fought from sunrise till the evening darkness 



I02 HIAWATHA. 

came. Pearl-Feather was unhurt, for Hia- 
watha's arrows could not pierce his magic shirt 
of wampum and his war-club fell harmless upon 
it. Hiawatha was weary and wounded in 
many places. 

He was almost ready to give up when he 
heard a voice in the tree above him. It 
was Mama, the woodpecker, and he told 
Hiawatha to aim his arrows at the crown 
of Pearl-Feather's head for that was the only 
place on his body which could be harmed. 

Hiawatha had only three arrows left but he 
did as Mama said; the first arrov/ struck 
and Pearl-Feather reeled and staggered. 
Swiftly he aimed his second arrow and it 
pierced deeper than the first. But it was his 
last arrow w^hich flew the swiftest and pierced 
Pearl-Feather's brain so deep that he fell to 
the earth, dead. 



HIAWATHA. 103 

Then the grateful Hiawatha 
Called the Mama, the woodpecker, 
From his perch among the branches 
Of the melancholy pine tree, 
And in honor of his service. 
Stained with blood the tuft of feathers 
On the little head of Mama; 
Even to this dav he wears it, 
Wears the tuft of crimson feathers, 
As a symbol of his service. 



Hiawatha took Pearl-Feather's shirt of wam- 
pum to show his people. He also took all 
the wampum, skins, furs and other valuable 
things he found in the wigwam and put them 
in his canoe. Then he sailed for home and 
left Pearl-Feather's body lying on the river 
bank. 




HIAWATHA KILLS PEARL-FEATHER, 



HIAWATHA. 105 

On the shore stood old Nokomis, 
On the shore stood Chibiabos, 
And the very strong man, Kwasind, 
Waiting for the hero's coming, 
Listening to his song of triumph, 
And the people of the village 
Welcomed him with songs and dances, 
Made a joyous feast and shouted : 

'' Honor be to Hiawatha ! 
He has slain the great Pearl-Feather, 
Slain the mightiest of magicians, 
Him who sent the fiery fever. 
Sent the white fog from the fen-lands, 
Sent disease and death among us ! ' 

Ever dear to Hiawatha 
Was the memory of Mama ! 
And in token of his friendship. 
As a mark of his remembrance, 
He adorned and decked his pipe-stem 



I06 HIAWATHA. 

With the crimson tuft of feathers, 
With the blood-red crest of Mama. 



Hiawatha had killed the wicked magician 
who sent the fever from the marshes and the 
people were proud of him. He divided Pearl- 
Feather's wealth equally among the people. 



Pearl-Feath-er, the wicked magician. 
Ma-ma, the woodpecker. 

pes-ti-len-tial, carrying the plague or pestilence, 
ex-hal-a-tions, vapors or fogs. 




** As unto the bow the cord is, 
So unto the man is woman ; 
Thougfh she bends him, she obeys him, 
Though she draws him, yet she follows, 
Useless each without the other ! " 



Hiawatha was often thinking and dreaming 
of the beauty of the maiden whom he had seen 
in the land of the Dacotahs. He thought of her 
when he was at work and when he was rest- 
ing. He seemed to hear her low, soft voice in 
the murmuring of the water when he was fish- 
ing, and in the sighing of the tree-tops when 



lo; 



I08 HIAWATHA. 

he was hunting. He talked to old Nokomis 
and told her how beautiful and good Minne- 
haha was. 



'' Wed a maiden of your people," 
Warning said the old Nokomis ; 

'' Go not eastward, go not westward. 
For a stranger whom we know not ! 
Like a fire upon the hearth-stone 
Is a neighbor's homely daughter, 
Like the starlight or the moonlight 
Is the handsomest of strangers ! " 

Thus dissuading spake Nokomis, 
And my Hiawatha answered 
Only this : '' Dear old Nokomis, 
Very pleasant is the firelight, 
But I like the starlight better, 
Better do I like the moonlight ! " 
Gravely then said old Nokomis : 



HIAWATHA. 109 

'' Bring not here an idle maiden, 

Bring not here a useless woman, 

Hands unskilful, feet unwilling ; 

Bring a wife with nimble fingers. 

Heart and hand that move together, 

Feet that run on willing errands ! " 
Smiling answered Hiawatha : 
'' In the land of the Dacotahs 

Lives the Arrow-maker's daughter, 

Minnehaha, Laughing Water, 

Handsomest of all the women. 

I will bring her to your wigwam. 

She shall run upon your errands. 

Be your starlight, moonlight, firelight^ 

Be the sunlight of my people ! " 
Still dissuading said Nokomis : 
'' Bring not to my lodge a stranger 

From the land of the Dacotahs ! 

Very fierce are the Dacotahs, 



no HIAWATHA. 

Often is there war l^etween us, 
There are feuds yet unforg-otten, 
Wounds that aehe and still may open ! " 
Laug-hinj^ answered Hiawatha: 
'' For that reason, if no other. 
Would I wed the fair Dacotah, 
Tlvdt our tribes mii^ht be united, 
That old feuds mig"ht be forgotten, 
And old wounds be healed forever!" 

Hiawatha loved Minnehaha and was deter- 
mined to win her for his wife, and nothing old 
Nokomis said eould make him change his 
mind. He put on his magic moccasins and, 
started for the land of the Dacotahs. But, 
although he could take a mile at each step, it 
seemed to him that he went very slowly. 

At last he heard the sound of the water- 
falls calling to him through the forest. At the 



HIAWATHA. I I I 

edge of the forest a herd of deer were feeding 
and Hiawatha killed the finest roebuck and 
took it with him on his shoulders. 

When he reached the Arrow-maker's wie- 
wam he paused at the doorway, till at last they 
bade him welcome. 



At the feet of Laughing Water 
Hia\\'atha laid his burden, 
Threw the red deer from his shoulders ; 
And the maiden looked up at him, 
Looked up from her mat of rushes, 
Said with gentle look and accent, 
" You are welcome, Hiawatha ! " 



The wigwam was large and pretty. It was 
made of deerskin which had been bleached 
white and all the Gods of the Dacotahs were 
painted on it. Minnehaha left her work and 




HIAWATHA AT THE HOME OF MINNEHAHA. 



HIAWATHA. I I 3 

brought food and water for Hiawatha and her 
father. She listened while they talked but she 
did not speak herself. She heard Hiawatha tell 
of the two friends he loved best: Chibiabos, 
the musician, and the very strong man, 
Kwasind. Then he talked of old Nokomis 
and told how good and kind she was, how she 
had nursed him and cared for him when he 
was a baby and had advised him in his man- 
hood. He also spoke of the happiness and 
plenty there w^as in the land of his people. 



'' After many years of w^arfare. 
Many years of strife and bloodshed, 
There is peace between the Ojibways 
And the tribe of the Dacotahs." 
Thus continued Hiawatha, 
And then added, speaking slowly, 
*' That this peace may last forever, 



4 HIAWATHA. 

And our hands be elapsed more closely, 
And our hearts be more united, 
Give me as my wife this maiden, 
Minnehaha, Laughing Water, 
Loveliest of Dacotah women ! " 



The old man did not answer at once but sat 
and smoked his pipe in silence. He looked at 
Hiawatha and thought what a handsome 
young man he was and how proud he would 
be to call him son. He looked at Minnehaha 
— and thought only how much he loved her. 



Then made answer very gravely : 

Yes, if Minnehaha wishes ; 

Let your heart speak, Minnehaha ! " 

And the lovely Laughing Water 
Seemed more lovely as she stood there, 



HIAWATHA. 

Neither willing nor reluctant, 
As she went to Hiawatha, 
Softly took the seat beside him, 
While she said, and blushed to say it, 
'I will follow you, my husband!" 
This was Hiawatha's wooing! 
Thus it was he won the daughter 
Of the ancient arrow-maker. 
In the land of the Dacotahs ! 



Hand in hand Hiawatha and Minnehaha 
passed from the wigwam out into the forest. 
The old man stood in the door and sadly 
watched them out of sight, and the Falls of 
Minnehaha seemed to call to them, '' Fare thee 
well, O Minnehaha!" 

At last they were lost to view and the old 
man went back to his arrows. 



Il6 HIAWATHA. 

Murmuring to himself and saying : 
''Thus it is our daughters leave us, 
Those we love and those who love us ! 
Just when they have learned to help us, 
When we are old and lean upon them, 
Comes a youth with flaunting feathers, 
With his flute of reeds, a stranger. 
Wanders piping through the village. 
Beckons to the fairest maiden, 
And she follows where he leads her. 
Leaving all things for the stranger ! " 



The old Arrow-maker was very sad. Min- 
nehaha was all he had to love and now that 
she was gone he must live and work alone. 

The journey home seemed very pleasant to 
Hiawatha and Minnehaha; he walked slowly 
so that she could keep up with him and he 



HIAWATHA. 117 

carried her lightly over all the rivers and made 
the path clear and free for her. 

The wind went frolicking and dancing past 
them and whispered pleasant things. The 
birds and the squirrels chattered and sang. 



"Happy are you, Hiawatha, 
Having such a wife to love you ! '* 

*' Happy are you, Laughing Water, 
Having such a noble husband ! *' 

From the sky the sun benignant 
Looked upon them through the branches, 
Saying to them, '' O my children, 
Love is sunshine, hate is shadow, 
Life is checkered shade and sunshine, 
Rule by love, O Hiawatha ! " 

From the sky the moon looked at them. 
Filled the lodge with mystic splendors, 



Il8 HIAWATHA. 

Whispered to them, '' O my children, 
Day is restless, night is quiet, 
Man imperious, woman feeble; 
Half is mine, although I follow; 
Rule by patience. Laughing Water ! '" 



Thus it was Hiawatha brought the loveliest 
of all the Dacotah women, Minnehaha, Laugh- 
ing Water, to his lodge to be the starlight, 
moonlight, sunlight for his people. 

But he had not brought an idle maiden; he 
had brought one whose hands and feet and 
heart were ready to run on errands of mercy 
and journeys of love. 



dis-suad-ing, advising or speaking against. 
feuds, quarrels, 
re-luc-tant, unwilling, 
flaunt-ing, waving gaily, 
im-pe-ri-ous, proud or commanding. 




You shall hear how Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
How the handsome Yenadizzi 
How the gentle Chibiabos, 
He, the sweetest of musicians, 
Sang his songs of love and longing ; 
How lagoo, the great boaster. 
He, the marvellous story-teller, 
Told his tales of strange adventure, 
That the feast might be more joyous. 
That the time might pass more gayly, 
And the guests be more contented. 



119 



I20 HIAWATHA. 

Nokomis made a great feast in honor of 
Hiawatha's wedding and sent messengers 
through the village, carrying wands of willow, 
to invite everyone to the feast. Everything 
was now ready. Their bowls were made of 
basswood and their spoons were made out of 
buffalo horns, smoothed and polished till they 
fairly shone. 

The people all put on their holiday clothes 
and looked very pretty in their many- 
colored paints, beads, belts of wampum and 
bright feathers. At the feast they had many 
kinds of fish, and wild fowl and the flesh of the 
deer and bison. They also had cakes made 
from the bruised grain of Mondamin, which 
were sweet and healthy. 

Every one ate heartily except Hiawatha, 
Nokomis and Minnehaha; they waited on their 
guests and attended to all their needs. 



HIAWATHA. 121 

When the feast was finished, old Nokomis 
took a pouch made of otter-skin and filled 
the men's pipes with tobacco and red willow 
bark so that they could smoke. 

When they were all sitting about comfort- 
ably smoking, Nokomis asked Pau-Puk-Kee- 
wis to dance for them. 



Then the handsome Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
He the idle Yenadizze, 
He the merry mischief maker, 
Whom the people called the Storm-Fool, 
Rose among the guests assembled. 

He was dressed in shirt of doeskin. 
White and soft and fringed with ermine, 
All inwrought with beads of wampum ; 
He was dressed in deer-skin leggings. 
Fringed with hedgehog quills and ermine, 




PAU-PUK-KEEWIS DANCING 



HIAWATHA. 123 

And in moccasins of buck-skin, 

Thick with quills and beads embroidered, 

On his head were plumes of swan's down, 

On his heels were tails of foxes, 

In one hand a fan of feathers, 

And a pipe was in the other. 

His face was painted with red, yellow, blue 
and Vermillion ; his hair was oiled and braided 
with sweet-scented grasses like a woman's. 

At first his dance was slow and solemn, 
then he went faster and faster till the leaves 
were caught up and carried with him and 
the wind and dust swung in eddies around 
him. 

On the margin of the lake he danced the 
many figures of the Beggar's Dance, and the 
people were much pleased and praised him. 

When Pau-Puk-Keewis had finished his 



1 24 HIAWATHA. 

dance Nokomis asked Chibiabos to sing for 
them. So Chibiabos rose and, looking at Hia- 
watha and Minnehaha and nodding to them, he 
sang songs of love and longing, sang his 
softest, sweetest, gentlest love songs. 

While Chibiabos was singing, lagoo looked 
around and saw that the people were pleased 
with the music. He was jealous and was 
anxious to entertain them with one of his 
wonderful stories. As the guests were fond of 
the old man's stories, they asked him to tell 
one. 



Very boastful was lagoo; 
Never heard he an adventure 
But himself had met a greater; 
Never any deed of daring 
But himself had done a bolder; 
Never any marvellous story 



HIAWATHA. 125 

But himself could tell a stranger. 

Would you listen to his boasting, 
Would you only give him credence, 
No one ever shot an arrow 
Half so far and high as he had ; 
Ever caught so many fishes, 
Ever killed so many reindeer. 
Ever trapped so many beaver ! 

None could run so fast as he could. 
None could dive so deep as he could, 
None could swim as far as he could. 
None had made so many journeys. 
None had seen so many wonders. 
As this wonderful lagoo, 
As this marvellous story-teller ! 

He told such wonderful stories that the peo- 
ple all jested about them and his name became 
a by-word in the village, so that whenever any 



126 HIAWATHA. 

one told a big story about their hunting- or 
fishing the people would point their finger and 
say, '' Ah! it is lagoo himself!" Nevertheless, 
everyone liked to hear his stories. 

And they said, '' O good lagoo, 
Tell us now a tale of wonder. 
Tell us of some strange adventure, 
That the feast may be more joyous, 
And our guests be more contented ! " 

And lagoo answered straightway, 
'* You shall hear a tale of wonder. 
You shall hear the strange adventures 
Of Osseo, the Magician, 
From the Evening Star descended." 

This was one of lagoo's most wonderful 
stories and the people of the village never, 
never grew tired of hearing it. 




When the western sky was tinged with 
purple, gold and red, the wedding guests 
questioned and asked among themselves what 
caused the many colors. Some said it was 
the Red Swan floating down and tinging the 
sky with her blood. Some said it was the sun 
sinking into the water and staining the waves 
red with its fire, but lagoo had another reason 
for the evening glory. 



And he said in haste: '' Behold it! 
See the sacred Star of Evening ! 
You shall hear a tale of wonder, 
Hear the story of Osseo, 



127 



128 HIAWATHA. 

Son of the Evening Star, Osseo ! 

*' Once in days no more remembered, 
Ages nearer the beginning, 
When the heavens were closer to us, 
And the gods were more familiar. 
In the North-land lived a hunter. 
With ten young and comely daughters. 
Tall and lithe as wands of willow ; 
Only Oweenee, the youngest, 
She the wilful and the wayward, 
She the dreamy, silent maiden. 
Was the fairest of the sisters." 

All of her sisters married brave arid haughty 
warriors, but she laughed and rejected all her 
lovers and then married Osseo, who was old 
and ugly and weak from coughing. 

Osseo's body was bent with age and his face 
was sad and wrinkled. 



HIAWATHA. 1 29 

'*Ah, but beautiful within him 
Was the spirit of Osseo, 
From the Evening Star descended, 
Star of Evening, Star of Woman, 
Star of tenderness and passion ! 
All its fire was in his bosom. 
All its beauty in his spirit, 
All its mystery in his being, 
All its splendor in his language ! " 

Although Osseo was old and ugly, Oweenee 
loved him because his heart was pure and 
noble. Her sisters and their handsome hus- 
bands laughed at her and taunted her about 
her ugly husband. Her former lovers, who had 
been rejected, followed her and pointed at her 
and scoffed at her, but she did not care ; she 
was happy with Osseo. 

Once she and her sisters and their husbands 




OSSEO AND OWEENEE 



HIAWATHA. 1 3 I 

were going to a great feast. The others 

walked on rapidly and laughed and talked 

together, but Oweenee and Osseo walked 
slowly and in silence. 

*'At the western sky Osseo 
Gazed intent, as if imploring, 
Often stopped and gazed imploring 
At the trembling Star of Evening, 
At the tender Star of Woman : 
And they heard him murmur softly, 
' Pity, pity me, my father ! ' " 

When the others heard him praying to his 
father they laughed and said among them- 
selves, what a pity it was that the old man 
did not stumble over a fallen tree and break 
his neck. But Oweenee did not mind their 
laughter. She kept close to the side of Osseo, 



132 HIAWATHA. 

for she loved him. As they were passing 
through the forest they came to a huge hollow 
log, half buried in leaves and mosses. 

When Osseo saw this log he gave a great 
shout that went echoing and ringing through 
the forest, and immediately jumped into one 
end of the hollow log. Soon some one came 
out at the other end, but what a change had 
taken place ! At one end of the log an old 
man, wrinkled and ugly, had gone in ; from 
the other end walked a young man, straight 
and tall and handsome as the early morning. 

But Osseo was not the only one who was 
changed. Poor Oweenee ! When Osseo be- 
came a handsome young man she became a 
wrinkled old woman. 

When her sisters saw her old and feeble, 
tottering along with her staff, they laughed 
louder than ever. But Osseo did not leave her. 



HIAWATHA. 133 

He walked very slowly so she could keep up 
with him, and took her poor wrinkled hand in 
his and helped her along. He spoke soft 
words of love to her and called her his sweet- 
heart. Ah, truly these two loved each other ! 
It made no difference to either whether the 
other was old or ugly, their love remained the 
same. 

When they reached the lodge of feasting, 
Osseo sat silent and dreaming while all the 
others were gay and happy. He sat and 
looked sadly at Oweenee and then up at the 
gleaming sky. 

*' Then a voice was heard, a whisper, 
Coming from the starry distance, 
Coming from the empty vastness, 
Low, and musical, and tender, 
And the voice said : ' O Osseo ! 



134 HIAWATHA. 

O my son, my best beloved ! 
Broken are the spells that bound you, 
All the charms of the magicians, 
All the magic powers of evil ; 
Come to me, ascend, Osseo ! 

' Taste the food that stands before you ; 
It is blessed and enchanted. 
It has magic virtues in it. 
It will change you to a spirit. 
All your bowls and all your kettles 
Shall be wood and clay no longer ; 
But the bowls be changed to wampum, 
And the kettles shall be silver ; 
They shall shine like shells of scarlet, 
Like the fire shall gleam and glimmer. 
And the women shall no longer 
Bear the dreary doom of labor. 
But be changed to birds, and glisten 
With the beauty of the starlight, 



HIAWATHA. 135 

Painted with the dusky splendors 

Of the skies and clouds of evening ! ' " 



'fe 



No one but Osseo heard the voice, but the 
wigwam began to shake and tremble and arose 
above the tree-tops. Osseo looked around and 
saw the sisters of his wife and their husbands 
chan<sred to different kinds of birds. 



'i!5 



'' Only Oweenee, the youngest, 
Was not changed, but sat in silence, 
Wasted, wrinkled, old, and ugly. 
Looking sadly at the others ; 
Till Osseo, gazing upw ard, 
Gave another cry of anguish. 
Such a cry as he had uttered 
By the oak-tree in the forest. 

Then returned her youth and beauty, 
And her soiled and tattered garments 



136 HIAWATHA. 

Were transformed to robes of ermine, 
And her staff became a feather, 
Yes, a shining silver feather! " 

The wigwam shook again and moved 
upward till it stopped at the portals of the 
Evening Star, and Osseo's father came out to 
welcome him. 

'' Forth with cheerful words of welcome 
Came the father of Osseo, 
He with radiant locks of silver. 
He with eyes serene and tender. 
And he said : ' My son Osseo, 
Hang the cage of birds you bring there, 
Hang the cage with rods of silver. 
And the birds with glistening feathers, 
At the doorway of my wigwam.' 

'' At the door he hung the bird-cage, 



HIAWATHA. 137 

And they entered in and gladly 
Listened to Osseo's father, 
Ruler of the Star of Evening, 
'' As he said : ' O my Osseo ! 
I have had compassion on you, 
Given you back your youth and beauty. 
Into birds of various plumage 
Changed your sisters and their husbands ; 
Changed them thus because they mocked you 
In the figure of the old man. 
In that aspect sad and wrinkled, 
Could not see your heart of passion, 
Could not see your youth immortal ; 
Only Oweenee, the faithful, 
Saw your naked heart and loved you.' " 



For many years Osseo and Oweenee lived 
in the land of the peaceful Evening Star. 
But one day Osseo let the birds, his former 



138 HIAWATHA. 

aunts and uncles, from the cage for his 
little son to shoot at with his bow and 
arrows. 

'' Round and round they wheeled and darted, 
Filled the Evening Star with music, 
With their songs of joy and freedom ; 
Filled the Evening Star with splendor ; 
With the fluttering of their plumage; 
Till the boy, the little hunter, 
Bent his bow^ and shot an arrow, 
Shot a swift and fatal arrow. 
And, a bird, with shining feathers. 
At his feet fell wounded sorely. 

" But, O wondrous transformation ! 
'Twas no bird he saw before him, 
Twas a beautiful young woman, 
With the arrow in her bosom ! 

No sooner was she wounded than Osseo's 



HIAWATHA. 139 

son felt himself descending slowly from the 
Evening Star to the earth. 

'' Till he rested on an island, 
On an island, green and grassy, 
Yonder in the Big-Sea-Water ! " 

All the birds followed him, and at last 
the wigwam with the silver poles also sank 
upon the island, bringing with it Osseo and 
Oweenee. 



'' Then the birds, . . . 
Reassumed the shape of mortals. 
Took their shape, but not their stature, 
They remained as Little People, 
Like the Pygmies, the Puk-Wudjies, 
And on pleasant nights of Summer, 
When the Evening Star was shining, 
Hand in hand they danced together, 



140 HIAWATHA. 

On the island's craggy headlands, 
On the sand-beach low and level. 

" Still their glittering lodge is seen there, 
On the tranquil Summer evenings. 
And upon the shore the fisher 
Sometimes hears their happy voices. 
Sees them dancing in the starlight ! " 

When lagoo finished his story, Chibiabos 
sang another song and the wedding feast was 
over. 

Such was Hiawatha's wedding, 
Such the dance of Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
Such the story of lagoo. 
Such the songs of Chibiabos : 
Thus the wedding banquet ended, 
And the wedding guests departed. 



Puk-Wudj'-ies, little wild men of the woods, pygmies. 
0-wee-nee', wife of Osseo. 



Itll'- 




MINNEHAHA 
C0RNriE:LD5. 



w" 



In the land of the Ojibways everything was 
now peaceful and pleasant. Nokomis had 
objected to Hiawatha wedding a strange 
maiden lest she should be idle and lazy. She 
found, however, that Minnehaha's fingers were 
skilful and quick, that she was kind and gentle ; 
so Nokomis now loved her almost as much as 
she did Hiawatha. 

There was no fear of war anywhere and all 
the village was happy and gay. 

Buried was the bloody hatchet, 
Buried was the dreadful war-club, 

141 



142 HIAWATHA. 

Buried were all warlike weapons, 
And the war-cry was forgotten. 
There was peace among the nations ; 
Unmolested roved the hunters, 
Built the birch canoe for sailing, 
Caught the fish in lake and river. 
Shot the deer and trapped the beaver ; 
Unmolested worked the women. 
Made their sugar from the maple, 
Gathered wild rice in the meadows. 
Dressed the skins of deer and beaver. 
All around the happy village 
Stood the maize-fields, green and shining, 
Waved the green plumes of Mondamin, 
Waved his soft and sunny tresses, 
Filling all the land with plenty. 
Twas the women who in Springtime 
Planted the broad fields and fruitful. 
Buried in the earth Mondamin ; 



HIAWATHA. 143 

Twas the women who in Autumn 
Stripped the yellow husks of harvest, 
Stripped the garments from Mondamin, 
Even as Hiawatha taught them. 

Hiawatha was always thinking of some way 
to help his people, so he decided to have 
Minnehaha bless the cornfields. He told his 
wife, the Laughing Water, that when the dark- 
ness fell on all the earth she should go alone 
and walk around the cornfields. That she 
should draw a magic circle around them with 
her footsteps, which would protect them from 
all harm. 

'' Thus the fields shall be more fruitful, 
And the passing -of your footsteps 
Draw a magic circle round them, 
So that neither blight nor mildew, 



144 HIAWATHA. 

Neither burrowing worm nor insect, 
Shall pass o'er the magic circle ! " 

When the ravens, crows and blue-jays heard 
Hiawatha speak these words to Minnehaha 
they laughed in great glee. They did not 
believe that the circle made by Minnehaha's 
footsteps could harm them or keep them out 
of the cornfields. 

When the darkness of midnight came 
Minnehaha arose from her bed, laid aside her 
garments, and walking softly and silently drew 
the magic circle of her footprints around the 
great, broad cornfields. 

On the morrow, as the day dawned, 
Kahgahgee, the King of Ravens, 
Gathered all his black marauders, 
Crows and blackbirds, jays and ravens^ 



HIAWATHA. 145 

Clamorous on the dusky tree-tops, 
And descended fast and fearless, 
On the fields of Hiawatha, 
On the grave of the Mondamin. 
'' We will drag Mondamin," said they, 
*' From the grave where he is buried. 
Spite of all the magic circles 
Laughing Water draws around it. 
Spite of all the sacred foot-prints, 
Minnehaha stamps upon it ! " 



But Hiawatha had heard them talking and 
laughing the day before, and he was prepared for 
them. He had said to himself, *' I will teach 
you ravens a lesson you will not soon forget." 

He had risen before the daybreak, 
He had spread o'er all the cornfields 
Snares to catch the black marauders, 



146 HIAWATHA. 

And was lying now in ambush, 
In the neighboring grove of pine-trees, 
Waiting for the crows and blackbirds, 
Waiting for the jays and ravens. 

So skilfully had Hiawatha laid his snares 
that they did not see them. They came with 
a great noise and settled on the cornfields and 
began to dig Mondamin from his grave. 
Then their claws became tangled in the nets 
and Hiawatha came from his hiding place and 
killed them in great numbers, and hung their 
dead bodies up on poles as a warning to all 
others. He did not kill Kahgahgee, the King 
of the Ravens, but took him home and tied 
him with a cord of elm bark to his lodge-pole. 

'' Kahgahgee, my raven ! " said he, 
'' You the leader of the robbers, 



HIAWATHA. 147 

You the plotter of this mischief, 
The contriver of this outrage, 
I will keep you, I will hold you, 
As a hostage for your people, 
As a pledge of good behavior ! " 



All summer the South-Wind blew over the 
cornfields, rustled the long green leaves, 
kissed the ripening ears and brought soft, 
warm showers to make Mondamin grow and 
ripen. 

At last the summer passed and the corn, in 
all its stately beauty, with its waving tassels 
and yellow ears, stood waiting for the coming 
of the young men and women to gather it for 
their winter food and feasting. 



Then Nokomis, the old woman, 
Spake and said to Minnehaha: 



148 HIAWATHA. 

'* 'Tis the moon when leaves are falHng ; 
All the wild rice has been gathered, 
And the maize is ripe and ready ; 
Let us wrestle with Mondamin, 
Strip him of his plumes and tassels, 
Of his garments green and yellow ! " 

And the merry Laughing Water 
Went rejoicing frorn the wigwam. 
With Nokomis, old and wrinkled. 
And they called the women round them, 
Called the young men and the maidens. 
To the harvest of the cornfields. 
To the husking of the maize ear. 



While the women and the young men 
worked in the cornfields, the warriors and the 
old men sat under the trees, at the edge of the 
forest, and smoked their pipes. 

Among the young folks there was much 



HIAWATHA. 149 

laughing and singing, for this was one of the 
pleasant times of the year, so they were all 
very happy at their work. Whenever a young 
girl found a blood red ear of corn they all 
laughed and shouted: — 



'' Nushka ! you shall have a sweetheart, 
You shall have a handsome husband ! " 

'* Ugh ! " the old men all responded 
From their seats beneath the pine trees. 

Whenever a youth or a maiden found an ear 
that was crooked or covered with mildew, they 
said it was an old man and they all bent over 
and w^alked as if they were very old. They 
were all very merry at their work and when 
Kahgahgee heard them laughing and shouting 
he was so angry that he trembled and shook 



150 HIAWATHA. — V. 

.Vt 

and pulled on his cord of elm bark, buf he 
could not get away. 

So, with much joy and laughter, Mondamin 
was gathered and stored away for the cruel 
winter. 



un-mo-lested, not bothered or disturbed. 

clam-or-ous, noisy. 

mar-au-ders, thieves or plunderers. 

am-bush, in hiding. 

hos-tage, a pledge. 

Nush'-ka, look ! an exclamation. 







niRWATM^'S 

PICTURf 

WRITING 




In those days said Hiawatha, 
" Lo ! how all things fade and perish ! 
From the memory of the old men, 
Fade away the great traditions, 
The achievements of the warriors. 
The adventures of the hunters. 

'* Great men die and are forgotten, 
Wise men speak ; their words of wisdom 
Perish in the ears that hear them, 
Do not reach the generations 
That, as yet unborn, are waiting 
In the great mysterious darkness 
Of the speechless days that shall be ! 

'' On the grave-posts of our fathers 

151 



152 HIAWATHA. 

Are no signs, no figures painted ; 
Who are in those graves we know not, 
Only know they are our fathers, 

*' Face to face we speak together. 
But we cannot speak when absent. 
Cannot send our voices from us 
To the friends that dwell afar off; 
Cannot send a secret message, 
But the bearer learns our secret, 
May pervert it, may betray it. 
May reveal it unto others." 

Hiawatha thought of these things as he 
went alone through the forest or sailed far out 
on the shining water of the lake. At last he 
began to make pictures of the different things 
he thought of, and as he worked he became 
deeply interested. 



HIAWATHA. I 5 3 

He drew a sign for the good spirit and 
another for the evil spirit. 



Life and death he drew as circles, 
Life was white, but Death was darkened ; 
Sun and moon and stars he painted, 
Man and beast, and fish and reptile. 
Forests, mountains, lakes, and rivers. 



He drew a straight line for the earth, then 
put a curved line above it for the sky. Day 
was represented with the sky white and for 
night the sky was filled with little stars. Rain 
or storm was shown by waving lines extend- 
ing from the sky to the earth. 



Footprints pointing towards a wigwam 
Were a sign of invitation. 
Were a sign of guests assembling ; 
Bloody hands with palms uplifted 




THUS IT WAS THAT HIAWATHA, IN HIS WISDOM, TAUGHT THE PEOPLE, 



HIAWATHA. I 5 5 

Were a symbol of destruction, 
Were a hostile sign and symbol. 

He thought and worked until he had a great 
many pictures and signs with which he could 
write whole messages and histories. Then he 
showed his picture writing to the people and 
told them to go and paint the grave-posts so 
that they could tell who was buried there. 
They placed on each post certain signs and pict- 
ures which told all the history of the dead, all 
their great feats in hunting, fishing and warfare. 

Every one was pleased with the picture- 
writing and learned it, and so it came about 
that they could now send messages without the 
carrier knowing what was in them. They could 
mark the graves so they knew what friend or 
relative rested within them. But above all, 
they were able to preserve the history of their 



156 HIAWATHA. 

people and keep a record of their deeds 
of skill and daring. 

The smooth surface of the birch bark was 
excellent for their writing, but much better still 
was the soft, smooth doe-skin when it was 
tanned and bleached white. 

From these picture writings the white men 
afterwards learned much of the Indian ways of 
living, of their warfare and religion. 



Thus it was that Hiawatha, 
In his wisdom, taught the people 
All the mysteries of painting, 
All the art of Picture-Writing, 
On the smooth bark of the birch-tree, 
On the white skin of the reindeer, 
On the grave-posts of the village. 



a-chieve-ments, actions or performances, 
gen-er-a-tions, races of an age or family, 
per-vert, change the meaning of. 
sym-bol, a sign or emblem. 




The Evil Spirits grew jealous of Hiawatha's 
wisdom and goodness and also of his love and 
friendship for Chibiabos. They held a council 
and decided to destroy both Hiawatha and 
Chibiabos, if it was possible. 



Hiawatha, wise and wary, 
Often said to Chibiabos, 
'' O my brother ! do not leave me. 
Lest the Evil Spirits harm you ! " 
Chibiabos, young and heedless, 
Laughing shook his coal-black tresses. 
Answered ever sweet and childlike, 



157 




IS? 



THE DEATH OF CHIBIABOS. 



HIAWATHA. 159 

'' Do not fear for me, O brother ! 
Harm and evil come not near me ! " 



One day in winter, when the Big-Sea-Water 
was covered with ice, and the sifting snow- 
flakes fell to the earth and covered the carpet 
of oak leaves in the forest, Chibiabos went 
deer hunting. The frightened deer sprang 
away from him on to the treacherous ice, but 
Chibiabos, filled with the fever of the hunt, 
followed rapidly. 

The Evil Spirits were beneath the ice in the 
sand of the lake's bottom lying in wait for 
Chibiabos, and when he came bounding along, 
they broke the ice under his feet and dragged 
him down into the deep abysses of the lake, 
and buried his body deep in the sand and mud 
at the bottom. 



l6o HIAWATHA. 

From the headlands Hiawatha 
Sent forth such a wail of anguish, 
Such a fearful lamentation, 
That the bison paused to listen, 
And the wolves howled from the prairies, 
And the thunder in the distance. 
Woke and answered '' Baim-wawa ! " 

Then his face with black he painted, 
With his robe his head he covered, 
In his wigwam sat lamenting. 
Seven long weeks he sat lamenting. 
Uttering still this moan of sorrow: — 
'' He is dead, the sweet musician ! 

O my brother, Chibiabos ! " 

The fir-trees waved their branches and 
sighed and moaned in sympathy with Hia- 
watha, for they, with all other things in nature, 



HIAWATHA. l6l 

loved Chibiabos and were grieved and sad 
because of his death. 

When Spring came all the buds and flowers 
waited and listened in vain for his coming. 
The brook was too sad to sing on its way, but 
went sighing among the rushes and through 
the meadows. 

All things called to him and waited, but he 
did not come. He did not hear nor answer, 
for their voices could not reach him in his 
bed among the slime and rushes in the bottom 
of the lake. 



And at night through all the forest, 
Went the whippoorwill complaining, 
Wailing went the Wawonaissa. 
Chibiabos ! Chibiabos ! 
He is dead, the sweet musician ! 
He the sweetest of all singers ! " 



1 62 HIAWATHA. 

Hiawatha still sat moumiifgMn'his wigwam. 
The medicine men, the Medas, the magicians, 
and the prophets built a sacred lodge and 
decided to take Hiawatha to it and there charm 
away his grief and sadness. 

They formed in line and marched to his 
wigwam, silently and gravely. Each carried 
his deer-skin pouch filled with herbs and roots 
gathered from the forest. 



When he heard their steps approaching, 
Hiawatha ceased lamenting, 
Called no more on Chibiabos ; 
Naught he questioned, naught he answered. 
But his mournful head uncovered. 
From his face the mourning colors 
Washed he slowly and in silence, 
Slowly and in silence followed 
Onward to the Sacred Wigwam. 



Hiawatha. 163 

When the medicine men reached the sacred 
Wigwam they gave Hiawatha a drink made 
from many strange juices and powders. 

They beat their drums, waved their 
medicine pouches, danced and chanted wild 
weird songs to him, till at last his sadness 
w^as all gone and he was like himself once 
more. 

Then they summoned Chibiabos 
From his grave beneath the waters, 
From the sands of Gitchee Gumee 
Summoned Hiawatha's brother. 
And so mighty was the the magic 
Of that cry and invocation. 
That he heard it as he lay there 
Underneath the Big-Sea Water ; 
From the sands he rose and listened, 
Heard the music and the singing, 



1 64 HIAWATHA. 

Came, obedient to the summons, 
To the doorway of the wigwam, 
But to enter they forbade him. 

The Medas and the magicians made Chibia- 
bos ruler over all the Spirits. They gave him 
a coal and a firebrand and told him to kindle 
fires along the path from earth to heaven, so 
that the spirits of the dead might stop and 
camp beside them through the night. Then 
their journey would not be so hard and lonely 
to the kingdom of Ponemah, to the land of the 
Hereafter, for they would have fires to light 
them on their way. 

From the village of his childhood, 
From the homes of those who knew him. 
Passing silent through the forest, 
Like a smoke-wreath wafted sideways. 
Slowly vanished Chibiabos ! 



HIAWATHA. 165 

Where he passed through the forest the 
branches did not move, and where he stepped 
the grass blades did not bend and the fallen 
leaves made no sound beneath his footsteps. 

Four long days he travelled along the dead 
man's pathway. He crossed the melancholy 
river on the swinging log and when he came 
to the Silver Lake, he was carried across in 
the Stone Canoe to the Islands of the Blessed 
where the ghosts and shadows lived. 

While on his journey he passed many spirits, 
weary with the burden of the many things 
their friends had given them to carry w^ith 
them. 

'' Ah ! why do the living," said they 
" Lay such heavy burdens on us ! 
Better were it to go naked, 
Better were it to go fasting, 



1 66 HIAWATHA. 

Than to bear such heavy burdens, 
On our long and weary journey ! " 

The songs, charms and dances had been 
effective, so Hiawatha mourned no more. 

Forth then issued Hiawatha, 
Wandered eastward, wandered westward, 
Teaching men the use of simples, 
And the antidotes for poisons. 
And the cure of all diseases. 
Thus was first made known to mortals. 
All the mystery of Medamin, 
All the sacred art of healing. 



Unk-ta-hee', the God of Water. 
a-byss-es, bottomless caves or gulfs, 
la-men-ta-tion, an expression of sorrow. 
Baim-wa'-wa, the sound of the thunder. 
Wa-wo-na-is'sa, the whippoorwill. 
Me'-das, medicine men. 
an-ti-dotes, cures or remedies. 




PAU-PUK-KEeW15 

T()e 3T0RM 

jPOOL. 






You shall hear how Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
He, the handsome Yenadizze, 
Whom the people called the Storm Fool, 
Vexed the village with disturbance; 
You shall hear of all his mischief, 
And his flight from Hiawatha, 
And his wonderful transmigrations, 
And the end of his adventures. 



On the shore of the shining Big-Sea- Water 
Pau-Puk-Keewis had built his lodge among the 



167 



1 68 HIAWATHA. 

sand dunes. He was always searching for 
new adventures and he came rushing into the 
village one day and found all the young men 
gathered in lagoo's wigwam, listening to one 
of his wonderful stories. 



'' Hark ye ! " shouted Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
As he entered at the doorway; 
'' I am tired of all this talking, 
Tired of old lagoo's stories. 
Tired of Hiawatha's wisdom, 
Here is something to amuse you, 
Better than this endless talking." 



As he spoke he took from his deer-skin 
pouch the game of Bowl and Counters, which 
he played with great skill, but which was new 
to the others. The bowl was made of wood 
but the thirteen counters were made of differ- 



HIAWATHA. 169 

ent materials ; some of wood, some of horn 
and some of brass polished on one side and 
painted on the other. 

He put the thirteen pieces in the bowl, then 
threw them on the ground, and explained the 
game to all the young men and to old lagoo, 
who was as deeply interested as any one. As 
Pau-Puk-Keewis explained it to them it seemed 
very easy, and twenty pairs of eyes watched 
him eagerly and twenty young men were 
anxious to play with him. 

'' Many games," said old lagoo, 
" Many games of skill and hazard 

Have I seen in different nations, 

Have I played in different countries. 
' He who plays with old lagoo 

Must have very nimble fingers ; 

Though you think yourself so skilful 



170 HIAWATHA. 

I can beat you, Pau-Puk-Keewis, 

I can even give you lessons 

In your game of Bowl and Counters ! " 



lagoo was always boastful and would insist 
that no one could beat him at any game or in 
anything at all. So, although he knew nothing 
about this game, he boasted that he could beat 
Pau-Puk-Keewis and even give him lessons ! 

They began to play and all through the 
night they sat and played, until the cunning 
Pau-Puk-Keewis had won all their deerskins, 
robes of ermine, belts of wampum, crests of 
feathers, weapons, pipes and everything they 
had of any value. 

The eyes of the young men glared at him like 
the eyes of hungry wolves but he did not care. 



Said the lucky Pau-Puk-Keewis : 



HIAWATHA. 171 

" In my wigwam I am lonely, 
In my wanderings and adventures 
I have need of a companion, 
Fain would have a Meshinauwa, 
An attendant and pipe-bearer, 
I will venture all these winnings. 
All these garments heaped about me. 
All this wampum, all these feathers, 
In a single throw will venture 
All against the young man yonder ! " 
Twas a youth of sixteen summers, 
'Twas a nephew of lagoo ; 
Face-in-a-Mist, the people called him. 

As the fire burns in a pipe-head 
Dusky red beneath the ashes, 
So beneath his shaggy eyebrows 
Glowed the eyes of old lagoo. 

'' Ugh ! " he answered very fiercely ; 

'* Ugh ! " they answered all and each one. 



\J2 HIAWATIIA. 

lagoo clutched the bowl in his long bony 
fingers, shook it fiercely and threw the pieces 
on the smooth floor. The pieces counted only 
five! Pau-Puk-Keewis smilingly took the 
bowl and tossed the pieces into the air. He 
counted the pieces, saying '' Five tens ! mine 
the game is ! " 



Twenty eyes glared at him fiercely, 
Like the eyes of wolves glared at him. 
As he turned and left the wigwam. 
Followed by his Meshinauwa, 
By the nephew of lagoo, 
By the tall and graceful stripling. 
Bearing in his arms the winnings. 
Shirts of deerskin, robes of ermine. 
Belts of wampum, pipes and weaponSo 

'' Carry," said Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
Pointing with his fan of feathers, 



HIAWATHA. 173 

**To my wigwam far to eastward, 
On the dunes of Nagow Wujoo ! " 

Pau-Puk-Keewis stepped through the door- 
way and left the angry men alone. Old lagoo 
was very angry for two reasons ; he had to 
acknowledge that he had been beaten, and that 
by the idle, worthless Pau-Puk-Keewis, and 
because he had wagered Face-in-a-Mist and 
had lost him. He was very fond of the boy, 
who was a great help to him. He had been 
doing many things for lagoo that he would 
now have to do for himself. They all sat in 
silence staring sullenly at the ground. 

When Pau-Puk-Keewis went out into the 
pleasant summer morning the cool air refreshed 
him and his heart beat high in triumph He 
felt so happy and gay that it made him 
reckless. He went on till he came to Hia- 



174 HIAWATHA. 

watha's wigwam, which was the last one in the 
village. 

No one was there to bid him welcome, only 
the King of Ravens screamed from his perch 
on the lodge pole. Pau-Puk-Keewis was out 
for mischief and, being bent on mischief, he 
laughed and muttered to himself: — 

''Gone is wary Hiawatha, 
Gone the silly Laughing Water, 
Gone Nokomis, the old woman, 
And the lodge is left unguarded ! " 



Then he seized the raven by its head and 
swung it round until its neck was broken. He 
hung its dead body to the ridge-pole as a 
taunt and insult to Hiawatha. 

Stealthily he entered and tossed everything 
in a heap, buffalo robes, dresses and kettles in 



HIAWATHA. 175 

the middle of the wigwam as a taunt to old 
Nokomis and Minnehaha. He had now done 
all the mischief he could in the village so he 
w^ent off into the forest. 

He whistled to the squirrels, who replied by 
dropping acorn-shells on his head. He sang 
to the wild birds and they answered with a 
song merrier than his own. Then he climbed 
to the highest part of the headlands which 
overlooked the shore of the lake and waited for 
Hiawatha to come home. He laughed to him- 
self w^hen he thought how angry Hiawatha 
would be. But he was not afraid for he 
thought he was too far away for Hiawatha to 
harm him. 

As he lay there, stretched upon his back, 
looking at the sky above him, he could hear the 
splashing of the waves as they broke against 
the shore. The birds, Hiawatha's chickens, 




176 



AND HE KILLED THEM AS HE LAY THERE. 



HIAWATHA. 177 

fluttered and hopped about him so close that 
their wings almost brushed his face. 

And he killed them as he lay there, 
Slaughtered them by tens and twenties, 
Threw their bodies down the headland, 
Threw them on the beach below^ him, 
Till at length Kayoshk, the sea-gull, 
Perched upon a crag above them, 
Shouted '' It is Pau-Puk-Keewis ! 
He is slaying us by hundreds ! 
Send a message to our brother, 
Tidings send to Hiawatha ! " 



trans-mi-gra-tions, changing from one body to another. 
Na'-gow Wu'd-joo, the sand dunes of Lake Superior. 
Me-shin-au'-wa, a pipe bearer, 
ugh, an exclamation, yes. 
dis-turb-ance, confusion or tumult. 




Full of wrath was Hiawatha 

When he came into the village, 

Found the people in confusion, 

Heard of all the misdemeanors. 

All the malice and the mischief. 

Of the cunning Pau-Puk-Keewis. 

Hard his breath came through his nostrils, 

Through his teeth he buzzed and muttered 

Words of anger and resentment, 

Hot and humming like a hornet. 
** I will slay this Pau-Puk-Keewis, 

Slay this mischief-maker ! " said he, 
'' Not so long and wide the world is, 

178 



HIAWATHA. 179 

Not SO rude and rough the way is, 
That my wrath shall not attain him, 
That my vengeance shall not reach him ! " 

Hiawatha called all the hunters together and 
they started to search for the cunning gambler 
who had done so much harm in the village. 
They searched through the forests and to the 
headlands but they found only the foot-prints 
of Pau-Puk-Keewis and the bed of leaves and 
branches where he had rested. 

Far below in the meadow they caught sight 
of him, but he only turned round and made a 
gesture of contempt and defiance at them. 
Hiawatha cried out to him that he would pur- 
sue him through the whole w^orld and punish 
him for the trouble he had made for the people. 

Then the chase commenced in good earnest. 
Pau-Puk-Keewis could run as lightly and 



l80 HIAWATHA. 

swiftly as an antelope and he bounded over 
meadows, hills, rivers, and streams followed by 
Hiawatha and his hunters. At length he came 
to a stream in the middle of the forest where the 
beavers had built a dam across the quiet water. 

On the dam stood Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
O'er his ankles flowed the streamlet, 
Flowed the bright and silvery water, 
And he spake unto the beaver, 
With a smile he spake in this wise : 
*' O my friend Ahmeek, the beaver, 
Cool and pleasant is the water ; 
Let me dive into the water, 
Let me rest there in your lodges ; 
Change me, too, into a beaver ! " 

Pau-Puk-Keewis was a great flatterer and he 
thought the beaver would do as he wished at 



HIAWATHA. l8l 

once. The beaver, however, was cautious and 
said he would have to ask the others about it. 
He sank down to the bottom of the pond and 
left Pau-Puk-Keewis standing on the dam alone. 

Presently the beavers began to come to the 
surface of the water by tens and twenties until 
the whole pond was covered with their dark 
heads. 

They rested there in the water and waited 
for Pau-Puk-Keewis to speak and tell them 
what he wanted. 

To the beavers Pau-Puk-Keewis 
Spake entreating, said in this wise : 
'' Very pleasant is your dwelling, 
O my friends ! and safe from danger. 
Can you not with all your cunning, 
Change me, too, into a beaver?" 
" Yes ! " replied Ahmeek, the beaver, 



82 HIAWATHA. 



He, the king of all the beavers, 
' Let yourself slide down among us, 
Down into the tranquil water." 



Pau-Puk-Keewis slipped from the dam into 
the water and was at once changed into a 
beaver, but he was so vain that he was never 
satisfied and now wished to be the largest 
beaver so that he could be king of them all. 

So they made him ten times larger than 
the others and said he should be their ruler. 
He was greatly pleased and sat in state among 
them, when all at once the sentinel came from 
the dam full of excitement, saying, '' Here is 
Hiawatha! Hiawatha with his hunters!" 

They heard shouts and cries above them 
and then a great crash as the hunters sprang 
upon the dam, which kept back the water, and 
tore it away. The water now quickly drained 



HIAWATHA. 183 

from the pond into the stream and left the 
beaver houses uncovered. All the beavers 
hurried to their holes in the bank to hide from 
the hunters. But alas! poor Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
in his vanity, had been made so large that he 
could not get into any of the holes ! He 
stood there with his head hidden and his 
body in plam view. 

The hunters beat him until his skull was 
broken and he, the king of beavers, lay dead 
before them. He was so large that it took six 
strong hunters to carry him home. 

Pau-Puk-Keewis' soul could not be killed, 
however, unless it and his human body were 
destroyed together, so, though they had killed 
the beaver body, his soul still lived on as Pau- 
Puk-Keewis. 



And it fluttered, strove and struggled, 



1 84 HIAWATHA. 

Waving hither, waving thither, 
As the curtains of a wigwam 
Struggle with their thongs of deerskin, 
When the wintry wind is blowing ; 
Till it drew itself together. 
Till it rose up from the body, 
Till it took the form and features 
Of the cunning Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
Vanishing into the forest. 



Hiawatha saw the figure just as it was 
gliding into the forest and he quickly pursued 
it. Over many miles of marsh and meadow 
Pau-Puk-Keewis ran followed by Hiawatha. 
On the shore of a lake Pau-Puk-Keewis paused 
and called to a water-bird, the brant, which was 
sailing about among the reeds and water-lilies, 
to change him into a brant also. But as usual 
he wanted to be bigger than any of the others. 



HIAWATHA. 185 

Straightway to a brant they changed him, 
With two huge and dusky pinions, 
With a bosom smooth and rounded, 
With a bill like two great paddles, 
Made him larger than the others, 
Ten times larger than the largest, 
Just as, shouting from the forest. 
On the shore stood Hiawatha. 

Up they rose with cry and clamor. 

And they said to Pau-Puk-Keewis : 
" In your flying, look not downward. 
Take good heed, and look not downward, 
Lest some strange mischance should happen, 
Lest some great mishap befall you ! " 



The whole flock rose and flew for many days 
far to the northland. They fed on the insects 
and water bugs they found in the rivers and 



1 86 HIAWATHA. 

lakes and slept at night among the reeds and 
rushes of some marsh or stream. 

One day, as they were flying along, they 
heard a great sound of voices in a village 
beneath them. The brants kept their heads 
up and their necks stretched out in front, but 
Pau-Puk-Keewis heard the voices of Hiawatha 
and old lagoo and he forgot the brant's words 
of caution and looked down. Immediately he 
lost his balance and went whirling down, down, 
down to the village below. 

He heard the brants screaming above, the 
people laughing and shouting below, and with 
a crash he struck the earth and lay helpless, 
with broken wings. 

But his soul or spirit again took the human 
form of Pau-Puk-Keewis and went rushing 
through the forest, followed by Hiawatha, who 
would have caught him had he not changed 



HIAWATHA. 187 

himself into a serpent and glided under the 
roots of a tree. Again he rushed forward in 
his own form. Far to the westward they fled, 
the pursued and the pursuer, until they came 
to the Great Pictured rocks of sandstone in the 
mountains. The Old Man of the Mountain 
opened the rocky doorway and Pau-Puk-Keewis 
entered and the door closed behind him. 

When Hiawatha found the doors closed 
against him he cried out to the Old Man of 
the Mountain, but the doors w^ould not open. 
He beat against the rocks with his magic 
mittens but he could not move them. Then 
he raised his hands to heaven and called on 
Gitche Manito to send the storm, the thunder 
and the lightning and break the great rocks 
asunder. 

Gitche Manito heard and answered his 
prayer. And when Pau-Puk-Keewis heard the 



1 88 HIAWATHA. 

sound of the thunder and felt the earth shake 
he was very badly frightened and crouched 
down and trembled. 



Then Waywassimo, the lightning, 
Smote the doorways of the caverns, 
With his war-club smote the doorways, 
Smote the jutting crags of sandstone, 
And the thunder, Annemeekee, 
Shouted down into the caverns. 
Saying, '' Where is Pau-Puk-Keewis ? " 
And the crags fell and beneath them, 
Dead among the rocky ruins. 
Lay the cunning Pau-Puk-Keewis, 
Lay the handsome Yenadizze, 
Slain in his own human figure. 

Then the noble Hiawatha 
Took his soul, his ghost, his shadow, 



HIAWATHA. ] 

Spake and said : '* O Pau-Puk-Keewis, 

Never more in human figure 

Shall you search for new adventures ; 

Never more with jest and laughter, 

Dance the dust and leaves in whirlwinds ; 

But above there in the heavens 

You shall soar and sail in circles. 

I will change you to an eagle, 

To Keneu, the great war-eagle, 

Chief of all the fowls with feathers, 

Chief of Hiawatha's Chickens." 

And the name of Pau-Puk-Keewis 
Lingers still among the people. 
Lingers still among the singers 
And among the story-tellers ; 
And in winter, when the snowflakes 
Whirl in eddies round the lodges, 
When the wind in gusty tumult, 
O'er the smoke-flue pipes and whistles, 



190 HIAWATHA. 

'' There," they cry, '' Comes Pau-Puk-Keewis : 
He is dancing through the village, 
He is gathering in his harvest ! " 



mis-de-mean-'ors, many kinds of bad conduct. 

Ah-meek', the beaver. 

pin-ions, wipgs. 

Ke-neu', the great war-eagle. 

Pictured Rocks, rocks on the shore of Lake Superior worn 

into queer shapes by the waves, with portions of their 

surface colored with bright hues. 




Far and near the fame of Kwasind spread 
through all the nations. No one dared to 
strive or contend with him in wrestling or 
other sports because he was the strongest 
of all the men. 

The Puk-Wudjies, the Little People, were 
very jealous and angry on account of the 
honor paid to Kwasind and they plotted 
together to kill him. 



'* If this hateful Kwasind," said they, 
If this great outrageous fellow 
Goes on thus a little longer, 



191 



92 HIAWATHA. 

Tearing everything he touches, 
Rending everything to pieces, 
Filling all the world with wonder, 
What becomes of the Puk-Wudjies ? 
Who will care for the Puk-Wudjies ? " 



These envious, wicked little pygmies were 
afraid people would think more of Kwasind 
than they did of them, so they decided to kill 
him. Kwasind's great strength was in the 
crown of his head and there only could he be 
wounded. But no ordinary weapon or club 
could harm him even on the crown of his 
head ; only the seed-cone of the pine tree had 
power to wound or kill him. 

No living man knew this secret, but the cun- 
ning Little People found it out in some way, 
and they gathered a great pile of fir cones to 
have when they needed them. 



HIAWATHA. 193 

One summer afternoon Kwasind came float- 
ing down the river in his canoe. The air was 
hot and still, the water murmured to him, and 
the sound of the birds singing in the forest 
came softly to him. Soon he was fast asleep 
and his canoe drifted toward a place where 
the rocks reached far out over the river. 

On these rocks the Pygmies stood waiting 
with their fir cones. 



There they stood, all armed and waiting, 
Hurled the pine-cones down upon him, 
Struck him on his brawny shoulders, 
Death to Kwasind ! " was the sudden 
War-cry of the Little People." 



He swayed and staggered, and at last fell 
from the canoe and sank beneath the waters. 
His canoe, bottom side up, drifted down the 




194 "death to kwasind!" was the suuden cry of the little people. 



HIAWATHA. 195 

river, and nothing more was ever heard or 
seen of Kwasind. 

The cruel Pygmies knew the cause of his 
death, but they kept the secret well. 



But the memory of the Strong Man 
Lingered long among the people, 
And whenever through the forest, 
Raged and roared the wintry tempest, 
And the branches, tossed and troubled, 
Creaked and groaned and split asunder, 
*' Kwasind ! " cried they ; '' that is Kwasind! 
He is gathering in his firewood ! " 



Puk-Wudj'-ies, little wild men of the forest or the pygmies. 



HIAWATHA'S VISITORS. 

It is never one vulture alone that falls upon 
the dead or wounded bison or deer and rends 
its flesh ; never one lonely wolf that pursues 
the famished reindeer through the forest; nor 
only one raven that digs the young corn from 
its bed in the springtime. 



So disasters come not singly; 
But as if they watched and waited, 
Scanning one another's motions. 
When the first descends, the others 
Follow, follow, gathering flock-wise 
Round their victim, sick and wounded, 
First a shadow, then a sorrow. 
Till the air is dark with anguish. 



196 



HIAWATHA. 197 

The winds of winter had swept over the 
lakes and rivers and covered them with ice 
almost as hard as stone ; they had spread the 
snow-flakes over the plains and forests till not 
a space of brown earth or leaves could be 
seen. The hunters now went daily through 
the forest on their snow-shoes ; the woncien 
pounded maize-grains and dressed the skins 
the hunters brought ; the young men played 
ball on the river and danced the snow-shoe 
dance on the plains; but the winds blew colder 
and colder, the ice froze thicker and thicker, 
and the snow fell deeper and deeper. 

Such a winter had never been known in the 
history of the people. 



One dark evening after sundown, 
In her wigwam Laughing Water 
Sat with old Nokomis, waiting 



98 HIAWATHA. 

For the steps of Hiawatha 
Homeward from the hunt returning. 

On their faces gleamed the firelight, 
Painting them with streaks of crimson ; 
In the eyes of old Nokomis 
Glimmered like the watery moonlight, 
In the eyes of Laughing Water 
Glistened like the sun in water; 
And behind them crouched their shadows, 
In the corner of the wigwam. 
And the smoke in wreaths above them 
Climbed and crowded through the smoke-flue. 



While they waited for Hiawatha, the curtain 
of the doorway was slowly lifted. Two women 
entered and, without a word, passed to the 
farthest corner of the wigwam and sat down 
among the shadows. They were strangers to 
the village, with a different kind of dress and 



HIAWATHA. 199 

bearing. They looked worn and weary as if 
from a long journey; so Nokomis and Minne- 
haha did not question them, but left them in 
peace and quiet. 

When Hiawatha came he brought a red deer 
on his shoulders, and threw it down in front of 
Minnehaha, just as he had done on that day 
long ago at the doorway of her father's wigwam. 
Minnehaha could not help looking up with 
loving eyes and thinking how handsome he 
looked in the light of the flickering fire. 

When Hiawatha saw the figures in the 
corner he, also, did not question them, only 
spoke to them to bid them welcome to his home. 



When the evening meal was ready, 
And the deer had been divided. 
Both the pallid guests, the strangers. 
Springing from among the shadows. 



HIAWATHA. 20 1 

Seized upon the choicest portions, 
Seized the white fat of the roe-buck, 
Set apart for Laughing Water, 
For the wife of Hiawatha; 
Without asking, without thanking, 
Eagerly devoured the morsels, 
Flitted back among the shadows 
In the corner of the wigwam, 

Not a word spake Hiawatha, 
Not a motion made Nokomis, 
Not a gesture Laughing Water, 
Not a change came o'er their features. 
Only Minnehaha softly 
Whispered, saving, '' They are famished ; 
Let them do what best delights them ; 
Let them eat for they are famished." 



For many days and nights these strange 
visitors stayed in their corner of the wigwam. 



202 HIAWATHA. 



silent and gloomy; but at night, pleasant or 
stormy, they went out and brought fire-wood 
from the forest. Each evening when supper 
was ready they rushed from their seats and 
snatched the choicest food. Never once did 
Hiawatha, Nokomis or Minnehaha rebuke 
them for their actions, for they believed that 
the rights of guests and strangers were sacred. 
One night Hiawatha heard them moaning 
and weeping, and saw them rocking themselves 
to and fro in the moonlight. 



And he said : '' O guests ! why is it 
That your hearts are so afflicted, 
That you sob so in the moonlight ? 
Has perchance the old Nokomis, 
Has my wife, my Minnehaha, 
Wronged or grieved you by unkindness, 
Failed in hospitable duties?" 



HIAWATHA. 203 

Then the shadows ceased from weeping, 
And they said, with gentle voices : 
"We are ghosts of the departed, 
Souls of those who once were with you. 
From the realms of Chibiabos 
Hither have we come to try you. 
Hither have we come to warn you." 



They told Hiawatha that the moans and 
sorrowful cries of the living reached them in 
the land of Ponemah and disturbed them so 
they could not rest. They also said their 
friends gave them too many things to carry to 
the land of spirits. 



''Four days is the spirit's journey 
To the land of ghosts and shadows, 
Four its lonely night encampments, 
Four times must their fires be lighted. 



204 HIAWATHA. 

Therefore, when the dead are buried, 
Let a fire, as night approaches, 
Four times on the grave be kindled. 
That the soul upon its journey 
May not grope about in darkness. 

''Farewell, noble Hiawatha! 
We have put you to the trial, 
To the proof have put your patience, 
By the insult of our presence. 
By the outrage of our actions. 
We have found you great and noble; 
Fail not in the greater trial. 
Faint not in the harder struggle." 



When they finished speaking, the wigwam 
was filled with darkness, and only a slight 
rustling of the curtains at the doorway told 
that the silent, ghostly visitors had passed 
out on their journey to the Islands of the 



HIAWATHA. 205 

Blessed. Hiawatha was left alone, but he 
did not forget his visitors nor the words of 
warning they had spoken. He thought of 
them much and often wondered what the 
greater trial they spoke of would be. 



THE FAMINE AND THE FEVER. 

O, the long and dreary winter! 
O, the cold and dreary Winter! 
Ever thicker, thicker, thicker 
Froze the ice on lake and river, 
Ever deeper, deeper, deeper 
Fell the snow o'er all the landscape. 
Fell the covering- snow and drifted 
Through the forest, round the village. 



The wigwams were almost buried in the 
deep snow which surrounded them, and it was 
almost impossible to hunt even on snow- 
shoes, because the snow had drifted so badly. 
When the hunters ventured into the forest, 
where they struggled wearily through the great 



206 



HIAWATHA. 207 

drifts, they found neither bird nor animal, — 
no, not even the foot-prints of an animal. 

The fierce and cruel Kabibonokka, the north 
wind, shrieked and screamed in savage joy as 
the supply of food grew less and less. The 
hearts of the people were sad and weary ; their 
minds were full of fear, and even the air 
seemed dark and heavy with the shadows of 
hunger and death. 

Not only had the people the cold to fear, a 
cold which chilled and froze them to the bone, 
but a fever had now come among them — a 
fever which stung and burned with its fierce- 
ness. Thus through the village, hand in hand, 
walked the fever and the famine, and who ever 
they looked upon, shivered, burned and died. 



O the famine and the fever ! 
O the wasting of the famine ! 



208 HIAWATHA. 

O the blasting of the fever ! 
O the wailing of the children ! 
O the anguish of the women ! 

All the earth was sick and famished; 
Hungry was the air around them, 
Hungry was the sky above them, 
And the hungry stars in heaven 
Like the eyes of wolves glared at them. 



At the door of Hiawatha's wigwam the 
famine and the fever paused — and entered. 
Silent as the dead, they sat and glared at the 
lovely, gentle Laughing Water. 

And the foremost said ; '' Behold me ! 

I am Famine, Buka-dawin ! " 

And the other said ; '' Behold me ! 

I am Fever, Ahko-sewin ! " 



As they spoke and glared upon her with 
their cruel, burning eyes she shivered and cov- 



HIAWATHA. 209 

ered her face with her hands ; and as they 
continued to glare at her, she lay down on her 
bed and hid herself under the skins. Her 
flesh was hot and burning and her blood 
seemed to be on fire. 

When Hiawatha saw that the famine and 
the fever had laid their deadly hands upon 
his lovely Minnehaha, he was filled with 
such sorrow that his face became hard, and 
his brow was covered with the sweat of 
anguish. He rushed into the forest to see if 
he might not find some food, some bird or 
animal, however small, that would save his 
dear one's life. 



^' Gitche-Manito, the Jvlighty!" 
Cried he with his face uplifted 
In that bitter hour of anguish, 
''Give your children food, O father 



2IO HIAWATHA. 

Give US food or we must perish ! 
Give me food for Minnehaha, 
For my dying Minnehaha! " 



His voice went echoing through the deserted 
forest, but the only answer he received was the 
far-off echoes calling back, '' Minnehaha ! Min- 
nehaha ! " 

All day long Hiawatha wandered through 
the vast forest, stumbled o'er the snow^-drifts 
in a vain search for game that was not there. 
He could not help thinking of the summer 
day when he and the happy Laughing Water 
came through these same woods on their 
journey home. Now, how all was changed ! 

But while Hiawatha was vainly searching 
for some food, his dying Minnehaha lay on her 
couch in the dread grasp of the famine and the 
fever. 



HIAWATHA. 2 1 

'' Hark ! " she said, *' I hear a rushing, 

Hear a roaring- and a rushine, 

Hear the Falls of Minnehaha 

Calling to me from a distance ! " 
'' No, my child ! " said old Nokomis, 
*'Tis the night-\vind in the pine-trees ! " 
'* Look ! " she said ; " I see my father 

Standing lonely at his doorway. 

Beckoning to me from his wigwam 

In the land of the Dacotahs ! " 
*' No, my child ! " said old Nokomis, 
^'Tis the smoke that waves and beckons ! " 
''Ah ! " she said, '' the eyes of Pauguk 

Glare upon me in the darkness, 

I can feel his icy fingers 

Clasping mine amid the darkness ! 

Hiawatha ! Hiawatha ! " 



The power of that wail of anguish was so 



HIAWATHA. 2 I 3 

great that even though he was miles away in 
the forest, Hiawatha heard it and hastened 
homeward. When he reached his doorway he 
heard Nokomis weeping and wailing: — 
'' Wahonomin ! Wahonomin ! 
Would that I had perished for you, 
Would that I were dead as you are ! 
Wahonomin ! Wahonomin ! " 

And he rushed into the wigwam, 
Saw the old Nokomis slowly 
Rocking to and fro and moaning, 
Saw his lovely Minnehaha 
Lying dead and cold before him. 
And his bursting heart within him 
Uttered such a cry of anguish. 
That the forest moaned and shuddered. 
That the very stars in heaven 
Shook and trembled with his anguish. 



2 14 HIAWATHA. 

Then, still and speechless, he sat on the 
bed and looked at Minnehaha, his Laughing 
Water, whose sweet face would never smile 
again to greet him, whose eyes would never 
dance and glisten with the pleasure of his 
coming. Never more would her nimble fin- 
gers dress the skins and plant Mondamin, never 
more her feet run on willing, loving errands, 
nor her welcome call ring through the forest. 

For seven long days and nights he sat there; 
sat and looked at the still, dead face before him. 

Then the people silently made a grave in 
the deep cold snow. They robed Minnehaha 
in her richest garments, wrapped her cloak of 
ermine around her, and reverently laid her in 
her white couch of snow, under the moaning 
trees of the dark forest. No birds sang or 
squirrels chattered, — only Kabibonkka shrieked 
among the pine-trees. 



HIAWATHA. 2 I 5 

And at night a fire was lighted, 
On her grave four times was kindled, 
For her soul upon its journey 
To the Islands of the Blessed. 



Hiawatha watched the fire carefully that it 
might not die out and leave her soul in dark- 
ness on her journey. 



''Farewell ! " said he, '' Minnehaha ! 
Farewell, O my Laughing Water ! 
All my heart is buried with you, 
All my thoughts go onward with you ! 
Come not back again to labor, 
Come not back again to suffer. 
Where the Famine and the Fever 
Wear the heart and w^aste the body. 
Soon my task will be completed, 



2l6 HIAWATHA. 

Soon your footsteps I shall follow, 
To the Islands of the Blessed, 
To the Kingdom of Ponemah, 
To the land of the Hereafter ! " 



Bu-ka-da-win, the famine. 
Ah-ko-se\vin, the fever. 
Wa-ho-no-min, a cry of grief or sorrow. 



THE COMING OF THE WHITE MAN. 

The long, cruel winter at last passed, and 
with it the hunger and the sickness. All the 
birds and wild fowl now hastened back to the 
Northland in such large flocks that when they 
passed before the sun they even seemed to 
hide his brightness from the earth. 



Thus it was that in the Northland 
After that unheard-of coldness, 
That intolerable Winter, 
Came the Spring with all its splendor, 
All its birds and all its blossoms, 
All its flowers and leaves and grasses. 



Everywhere the barren meadows gleamed 
with their wealth of wild flowers, and the robin, 

217 



2 I 8 HI AWATHA. 

the blue bird and the pigeon again called 
lovingly to their mates among the singing 
branches. 

They also called and sang to their brother, 
Hiawatha; and at last he came and stood in 
the doorway of his wigwam, looked at the 
beauty of earth and sky, heard the happy songs 
of wild birds, and his heavy heart was 
lightened. 

During the winter old lagoo had gone far 
to the eastward in search of new adventures. 
When he returned in the spring the people 
all gathered round him to listen to his 
marvelous stories and adventures. He said 
he had seen a body of water bigger than 
the Big Sea-Water and that it was so bitter no 
man could drink it. Over this water, he said, 
came a great canoe with wings, which was 
larger than all their canoes put together and 



HIAWATHA. 219 

taller than the trees. The people who came in 
this great canoe, he told them, had their faces 
painted white and their chins were covered 
with hair! 

The story he told appeared so marvelous 
that the men and warriors and even the women 
laughed and jeered at him. 



** Kaw ! " they said, ** what lies you tell us ! 
Do not think that we believe them ! " 



Only Hiawatha did not laugh with the rest; 
he stood grave and silent until they were quiet 
again. 



''True is all lagoo tells us; 
I have seen it in a vision. 
Seen the great canoe with pinions, 
Seen the people with white faces, 



220 HIAWATHA. 

Seen the coming of this bearded 
People of the wooden vessel, 
From the region of the morning, 
From the shining land of Wabun." 



Then Hiawatha spoke earnestly and wisely 
to his people and advised them to greet this 
strange race of men as their brothers and fol- 
low the teachings of Gitche Manito who had 
sent those white people here. 



Speaking of the future, he said — - 
'' I beheld, too, in that vision 
All the secrets of the future, 
Of the distant days that shall be. 
I beheld the westward marches 
Of the unknown crowded nations. 
All the land was full of people. 
Restless, struggling, toiling, striving, 



HIAWATHA. 221 

Speaking many tongues, yet feeling 
But one heart-beat in their bosoms. 
In the woodlands rang their axes, 
Smoked their towns in all the valleys, 
Over all the lakes and rivers 
Rushed their great canoes of thunder. 
'' Then a darker, a drearier vision 
Passed before me, vague and cloudlike 
I beheld our nation scattered. 
All forgetful of my counsels, 
Weakened, warring with each other ! 
Saw the remnants of our people 
Sweeping westward, wild and woful, 
Like the cloud-rack of a tempest, 
Like the withered leaves of Autumn ! " 

And so Hiawatha foretold to his people the 
time when the white men would become so 
numerous that they would crowd the Indians 



222 HIAWATHA 

farther and farther to the west, — until at last 
through wars among themselves and against 
the white men all the Indian nations would be 
destroyed. 

The big body of water lagoo told about was 
the Atlantic ocean, and the great canoe was 
possibly one of the ships from England which 
brought the early New England settlers. 



HIAWATHA CLAIMS HIS KINGDOM. 

Again the Big Sea-Water sparkled and 
gleamed in the summer sunshine. All the air 
was full of the scent of flowers and the song 
of birds. The bees hummed merrily as they 
flitted from flower to flower, gathering food for 
the coming winter. 

Alone stood Hiawatha on the shore looking 
over the flashing water. 



From the brow of Hiawatha 
Gone was every trace of sorrow, 
As the fog from off the water, 
As the mist from off the meadow. 
With a smile of joy and triumph. 



223 



2 24 HIAWATHA. 

With a look of exaltation, 
As of one who in a vision 
Sees what is to be, but is not, 
Toward the sun his hands were lifted. 
Both the palms spread out against it, 
And between the parted fingers 
Fell the sunshine on his features, 
Flecked with light his naked shoulders, 
As it falls and flecks an oak-tree 
Through the rifted leaves and branches. 



As he stood there looking out over the lake, 
he thought he saw a distant object move over 
its surface. He waited and watched till at 
last he knew it was a canoe filled with white 
men from the east. 



And the noble Hiawatha, 
With his hands aloft extended, 



HIAWATHA. 225 

Held aloft in sign of welcome, 

Waited full of exultation, 

Till the birch canoe with paddles 

Grated on the shining pebbles, 

Stranded on the. rocky margin, 

Till the Black-Robe chief, the Pale-face, 

With the cross upon his bosom, 

Landed on the sandy margin. 



Hiawatha joyfully bade them welcome and 
at once invited them to his wigwam. 

And the Black-Robe chief made answer, 
Stammering in his speech a little, 
Speaking words yet unfamiliar: 
''Peace be with you, Hiawatha, 
Peace be with you and your people. 
Peace of prayer and peace of pardon, 
Peace of Christ and joy of Mary ! " 




226 



WITH HIS HANDS ALOFT EXTENDED, 
HKLD ALOFT IN SIGN OF WELCOME 



HIAWATHA. 227 

Hiawatha then led the strangers to his wig- 
wam, and gave them the softest robes to sit 
upon. The good old Nokomis brought them 
food and drink, and all the people of the village 
came to see the strangers. 



Came to bid the strangers welcome ; 
''It is well," they said, ''O brothers. 
That you come so far to see us!" 

Then the Black-Robe chief, the prophet, 
Told his message to the people, 
Told the purport of his mission, 
Told them of the Virgin Mary, 
And her blessed Son, the Saviour, 
How in distant lands and ages 
He had lived on earth as we do : 
How he fasted, prayed, and labored." 



228 HIAWATHA. 

All the warriors listened till he had finished; 
then the chiefs spoke in answer. 



"We have listened to your message, 
We have heard your words of wisdom, 
We will think on what you tell us." 



Then they all departed to their wigwams, 
and the Black-Robe chief and his companions, 
weary with the heat of summer, lay down to 
sleep in Hiawatha's wigwam. 



From his place rose Hiawatha, 
Bade farewell to old Nokorais, 
Spake in whispers, spake in this wise, 
Did not wake the guests that slumbered; 

'* I am going, O Nokomis, 
On a long and distant journey. 
To the portals of the Sunset, 



HIAWATHA. 229 

To the regions of the home-wind, 
Of the Northwest wind, Keewaydin. 
But these guests I leave behind me. 
In your watch and ward I leave them; 
See that never harm comes near them, 
See that never fear molests them, 
Never danger nor suspicion. 
Never want of food or shelter, 
In the lodge of Hiawatha ! " 



Then Hiaw^atha went through the village 
and bade farewell to the young men and the 
warriors. 

Spake persuading, spake in this wise : 

'' I am going, O my people. 
On a long and distant journey ; 
Many moons and many winters 
Will have come and will have vanished, 



2 30 HIAWATHA. 

Ere I come again to see you. 
But my guests I leave behind me ; 
Listen to their words of wisdom, 
Listen to the truth they tell you, 
For the Master of Life has sent them 
From the land of light and morning ! " 



Hiawatha walked down to the margin of the 
lake, and then waving his hand to his people 
in a last farewell, pushed his birch canoe from 
the beach, far out into the water. 



Whispered to it, '' Westward ! westward ! " 
And with speed it darted forward. 



The clouds were red with fire from the set- 
ting sun, and the waters of the lake gleamed 
and sparkled in the light of sunset. But the 
canoe seemed to leap forward like a living 



HIAWATHA. 231 

thing, bearing Hiawatha rapidly to the regions 
of the Northwest wind, which Mudjekeewis 
promised him for his own. The people on 
the shore watched him as the canoe sped 
on and on, seeming to be lifted up to the very 
portals of the western sky, where it gradually 
disappeared from sight forever. 



And they said, '' Farewell forever ! " 
Said, '' Farewell, O Hiawatha ! " 
And the forests, dark and lonely. 
Moved through all their depths of darkness, 
Sighed, '' Farewell, O Hiawatha ! " 
And the waves upon the margin 
Rising, rippling on the pebbles. 
Sobbed, '' Farewell, O Hiawatha ! " 
And the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, 
From her haunts among the fenlands, 
Screamed, '' Farewell, O Hiawatha!" 




232 



AND THEY SAID, ' FAREWHLL FOREVER! 
SAID "farewell, O HIAWATHA !" 



HIAWATHA. 233 

Thus departed Hiawatha, 
Hiawatha the Beloved, 
In the glory of the sunset, 
In the purple mists of evening, 
To the regions of the home-w^ind, 
Of the Northwest wind, Keewaydin, 
To the Islands of the Blessed, 
To the Kingdom of Ponemah, 
To the land of the Hereafter ! 



Black-Robe-chief, one of the missionaries who labored 
among the Indians, teaching them many things. 



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